India’s digital trust at a crossroad: Preparing for the 2026 TLS certificate shift

By Rohan Vaidya, Area Vice President – India & SAARC, CyberArk

In today’s digitally interconnected world, TLS (Transport Layer Security) certificates form the silent yet essential backbone of modern digital infrastructure. They verify website and service identities, encrypt communications, and enable secure machine-to-machine interactions. From digital banking and e-governance to retail payments and cloud services, TLS certificates ensure trust in every transaction. Their seamless operation often goes unnoticed—until they fail. When they do, users encounter security alerts, apps malfunction, and critical services grind to a halt.

March 2026: Certificates Will Expire Twice as Fast
Starting March 2026, the lifespan of TLS certificates will be halved, dropping from 398 days to 200 days. While this may seem like a minor technical adjustment, it introduces significant operational challenges. Routine renewals could become recurring disruptions, especially for organizations relying on manual tracking.

This change is part of a phased ...