How to Install SSL Certificates on VM Access Proxies?

Introduction

As the employment of remote work and cloud business solutions is rapidly growing in the present digital environment, maintaining the security of VM access is highly crucial. The facilities of VM Access Proxies give users an opportune method to access their VMs through the internet but not directly.

However, to strengthen security and create an encrypted connection to guarantee users’ trust, it is necessary to add SSL/TLS encryption through SSL certificates to VM Access Proxies. Proceed through the following simple but systematic steps in this article to guide SSL certificate installation for securing VM Access Proxies of your remote connections.

Understanding VM Access Proxies and SSL/TLS Encryption:

As a prerequisite to discussing the installation process, two terms that will be recurrent in this article must be defined: VM Access Proxies is one of the many components of VMware Suite and is employed to control the access to virtual machines; on the other hand, SSL/TLS is a security technology that implements encryption protocols in the web browsers of clients.

Also Read: How to Install SSL Certificate on Outlook Web Access?

VM Access Proxies in GCP is an external way to remotely access your VMs without directing these computers to the web. Connect to our Access Proxy instead of the VM’s IP, and our Access Proxy will connect directly to the protected VM.

This approach promotes security as it tends to shrink the surface area vulnerable to attack and also the probability of somebody cracking the code in an attempt to gain unauthorized entry into the system.

You should also know that you can secure your remote connections by making use of the SSL/TLS technology that puts the data into an encrypted format between your client as well as the VM Access Proxy.

If you are not using SSL/TLS encryption for your connections, your messages and information can easily be intercepted and modified by attackers, which will pose a great danger to the data’s confidentiality and integrity.

When you secure the VM Access Proxies by deploying SSL certificates you provide secure channels that protect virtual desktop access and therefore avert possible threats.

SSL Installation Steps on VM Access Proxies

Step 1: Obtain an SSL Certificate

The first step of implementation is to Buy SSL certificate from the recommended Certificate Authorities. To elaborate on those, many CAs that provide SSL certificates are Certera, Sectigo, Comodo, and DigiCert, and there are many others as well. At the time of purchase, you will be prompted for the Fully Qualified Domain Name or the IP address of your VM Access Proxy.

The choice of CA needs to be carefully thought through; there are many questionable characters around nowadays, not to mention hackers, ready to compromise a system at the first opportunity; and the validation methods offered by many current CAs too are unreliable.

This makes sure that your SSL certificate is recognized and accepted by clients and browsers to avoid cases where there are security threats that may lead to security issues, such as security warnings on your website.

Step 2: Create a Google Cloud Storage Bucket

Before granting the option of installing the SSL certificate on the VM Access Proxy, create a Google Cloud Storage bucket to host the certificate files. Follow these steps:

• To begin with, open the Google Cloud Console website by accessing it with the account username and password that was created during the signup process.
• Next, select the “Cloud Storage” option found in the available categories.
• To do this, click on the link on the page that reads “Create Bucket” followed by inputting a bucket name that should not be similar to those used by other users.
• Customize the configuration of the bucket to your preferences like where you want the bucket to be located or who should have access to the bucket.
• If the bucket doesn’t exist, click the ‘Create’ button to create a new bucket for storing the artificial data.

Step 3: Upload the SSL Certificate Files to the Cloud Storage Bucket

After getting your hands on your desired SSL certificate and setting up a Google Cloud Storage bucket, you can proceed with granting and uploading the certificate files. Follow these steps:

• You can go to the Google Cloud Console, select the storage option, and locate your bucket.
• The loading of the SSL certificate files that you got from the CA can be done by clicking on “Upload files” and then selecting the wanted SSL certificate files.
• After that, to upload the files into the bucket just click “Upload”.

Step 4: Configure the VM Access Proxy with the SSL Certificate

Once you have uploaded your SSL certificate files to the Cloud Storage bucket, you will need to configure your VM Access Proxy to utilize the SSL certificate. Follow these steps:

• On the Google Cloud Console, the option to manage VM instances can be found in the “Compute Engine” tab.
• In the Google Cloud Platform console, navigate to the appropriate project, select “Compute Engine” to expand that section, and choose the “VM instances” option.
• Initially, the VM Access Proxy attribute needs to be filled in, for this, click on the “Edit” button next to the VM Access Proxy.
• Here you will find the “SSL certificates” link; click on “Add SSL certificate.”
• Describe your SSL certificate and then specify the source path of the SSL certificate files from the Cloud Storage bucket you have created above.
• Click “Save” to apply the changes.

Step 5: Test and Verify

The final thing to ensure is that your VM Access Proxy is handling the SSL certificate properly and you can check this after finishing the configuration steps.

Try to establish a connection with your VM by web interface in the ‘VM Access Proxy’ and make sure that connection is made in https.

Moreover, more specifically, you can use services such as SSL Labs or any other reliable service to check the SSL/TLS configuration of your server in general. These tools will be handy when it comes to sampling the strength of your encryption, noting any weaknesses, or identifying areas that might benefit from enhancement.

Conclusion

Secure your VM access Proxies by Deploying an SSL Certificate on them when you are granting remote access to Virtual Machines. Exploring this guide, then, you will find an easy and safe way to connect your computer and guarantee the protection of your information as well as meet the requirements established by legislation.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can I use a self-signed SSL certificate for my VM Access Proxy?

However, using a self-signed SSL certificate can be used but this option is not advisable when working with a real-world application. Certificates that are created using a self-signed key are not trusted and this can provoke security warnings of the browsers and clients in which the application is being run, and therefore, can be an issue of trust and security among users.

When obtaining an SSL certificate, there’s an advantage in purchasing an SSL certificate from trusted Certificate Authorities to enhance the validation.

Can I use the same SSL certificate for multiple VM Access Proxies?

While it is technically possible to use the same SSL certificate for multiple VM Access Proxies, you are expected to ensure that the FQDN or an IP address of an Access Proxy aligns with the SSL certificate.

Still, it is needed to use it and update from time to time making sure that there will be no problems with the certificates in all Access Proxies to fit the security and the standards.

What happens if I don’t install an SSL certificate on my VM Access Proxy?

If you fail to install an SSL certificate in your VM Access Proxy, then the connections made to your VM Access Proxy will not be secure and could easily be tapped and people with ill intentions can easily intercept such connections to carry out man-in-the-middle attacks.

For example, you may encounter problems with some customers or vendors, or some applications must use an SSL connection, and you may not meet the industry standards and regulations for data protection and security.