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Securing
This section describes security features, including execution control lists, IDs, and TLS.
TLS security
Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a security protocol that provides communications privacy and authentication for Domino® server tasks that operate over TCP/IP.
Managing TLS certificates without Certificate Manager
If you do not manage certificates with Certificate Manager (CertMgr) and the Certificate Store (certstore.nsf) database, you generate and manage certificates manually, as described in this section.
Generating a keyring file with a self-signed or third-party certificate
To set up TLS on your server, you need a server certificate from an Internet certificate authority.

Securing
This section describes security features, including execution control lists, IDs, and TLS.
- Overview of Domino security
  Setting up security for your organization is a critical task. Your security infrastructure is critical for protecting your organization's IT resources and assets. As an administrator, you need to give careful consideration to your organization's security requirements before you set up any servers or users. Up-front planning pays off later in minimizing the risks of compromised security.
- Server access for Notes® users, Internet users, and Domino® servers
  To control user and server access to other servers, Domino® uses the settings you specify on the Security tab in the Server document as well as the rules of validation and authentication. If a server validates and authenticates the Notes® user, Internet user, or server, and the settings in the Server document allow access, the user or server is allowed access to the server.
- The database access control list
  Every .NSF database has an access control list (ACL) that specifies the level of access that users and servers have to that database. Although the names of access levels are the same for users and servers, those assigned to users determine the tasks that they can perform in a database, while those assigned to servers determine what information within the database the servers can replicate. Only someone with Manager access can create or modify the ACL.
- Domino® server and Notes® user IDs
  Domino® uses ID files to identify users and to control access to servers. Every Domino server, Notes® certifier, and Notes user must have an ID.
- The execution control list
  You use an execution control list (ECL) to configure workstation data security. An ECL protects user workstations against active content from unknown or suspect sources, and can be configured to limit the action of any active content that does run on workstations.
- Domino® server-based certification authority
  You can set up a Domino® certifier that uses the CA process server task to manage and process certificate requests. The CA process runs as a process on Domino servers that are used to issue certificates. When you set up a Notes® or Internet certifier, you link it to the CA process on the server in order to take advantage of CA process activities. Only one instance of the CA process can run on a server; however, the process can be linked to multiple certifiers.
- TLS security
  Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a security protocol that provides communications privacy and authentication for Domino® server tasks that operate over TCP/IP.
  - Managing TLS certificates with Certificate Manager
    HCL Domino® 12 introduces a new server task, Certificate Manager (CertMgr), that works with a new database, Certificate Store (certstore.nsf) to manage TLS certificates in your Domino environment.
  - TLS port configuration
    The TLS protocol always provides an encrypted, integrity-checked, communications channel and authenticated server identity. TLS servers can be optionally configured to request various forms of client identity authentication.
  - Requiring a TLS connection to a server
    Require TLS connections when you want to make sure that clients use a secure connection to access databases on the server. You do this by redirecting connection requests that come in over the TCP/IP port to the TLS port. If you do not require an TLS connection, clients can use either TLS or TCP/IP to connect to the server.
  - Creating an Internet cross-certificate for server-to-server TLS
    One server can obtain an Internet cross-certificate from another server for the purposes of establishing trust. For example, if one server needs to access Directory Assistance on another server.
  - Setting up database access for TLS clients
    After you set up TLS on a Domino® server, you must give the clients access to databases on the server.
  - Modifying TLS cipher restrictions
    TLS uses public, private, and negotiated session keys. Every set of TLS credentials has one pair of keys -- a public key and private key -- and an X.509 certificate that enable certificate owners to identify themselves over the network and to use S/MIME to encrypt and sign messages. Certificates contain only the public half of the key pair. The private key is kept in the ID file for the Notes® client, and is kept in the key ring file or cerstore.nsf database in the case of the TLS server. Starting with Domino 12, Domino supports both RSA and ECDSA keys. For more information, see wn_ECDSA_cryptography.html.
  - Authenticating Web TLS clients in secondary Domino® and LDAP directories
    When a Web client authenticates with a server, by default, the server checks the primary HCL Domino® Directory to see if the client certificate exists in the Person document. If your organization uses a secondary Domino Directory and/or an LDAP directory to verify client certificates, you can set up Domino to check those additional directories. To do so, you set up the secondary Domino and LDAP directories as trusted domains in the Directory Assistance database.
  - TLS session resumption
    TLS session resumption greatly improves performance when using TLS by recalling information from a previous successful TLS session negotiation to bypass the most computationally intensive parts of the TLS session key negotiation. HTTP is the protocol that benefits the most from TLS session resumption, but other Internet protocols may benefit as well.
  - Managing TLS certificates without Certificate Manager
    If you do not manage certificates with Certificate Manager (CertMgr) and the Certificate Store (certstore.nsf) database, you generate and manage certificates manually, as described in this section.
    - Generating a keyring file with a self-signed or third-party certificate
      To set up TLS on your server, you need a server certificate from an Internet certificate authority.
    - Viewing TLS server certificates
      You can view information about TLS server certifications
    - Changing the password for the server key ring file
      You can change the password for the server key ring file. The password must be at least 12 alphanumeric characters.
    - Marking or unmarking a CA's certificate as a trusted root
      Remove a CA's certificate as a trusted root from the server certificate when you no longer want to communicate with servers and clients that use certificates signed by that CA.
    - Viewing requests for certificates
      Server administrators can view information about certificate requests that they sent to a CA to keep track of the request. The request document tracks the method used to submit the certificate, date and time of the request, the key ring file for the certificate, information about the certificate, and, if used, the email address to which the server administrator sent the request.
    - Renewing expired certificates
      After a certificate expires, you can no longer use it to communicate with servers and clients. If you obtained a server certificate from a third-party certificate authority, you may be able to renew it by submitting a request to the third-party CA's Web site, which often includes your user name, password, and a challenge phrase. If it is possible to renew your server certificate, this information is accepted and you will be prompted to renew. If you cannot renew your server certificate, you will have to submit a request for a new one.
    - Creating a self-certified certificate to test TLS certification
      You can create a self-certified certificate to test the certificate procedure at your organization. Because this certificate is not certified by a CA, use it only for testing purposes.
- TLS and S/MIME for clients
  Clients can use a Domino® certificate authority (CA) application or a third-party CA to obtain certificates for secure TLS and S/MIME communication.
- Encryption
  Encryption protects data from unauthorized access.
- Web-based authentication
  Define and set up authentication methods for web users, for example through basic password authentication, passkeys, time-based one-time password, or single sign-on.
- Using Domino as an OIDC provider
  The Domino HTTP task can act as an OIDC identity provider. This feature allows administrators to leverage their existing Domino HTTP authentication experience -- including passkeys, TOTP, custom domcfg login forms, and external identity providers -- to authenticate end users with applications, servers, and services that support OIDC.
- Using a credential store to store credentials
  A Domino® server can use a credential store application as a secure artifact repository. Examples of secure artifacts include authentication credentials and security keys.
- History of supported key sizes in Notes and Domino
  Understand the RSA key sizes supported by Notes® and Domino® from past releases to the current release.

Generating a keyring file with a self-signed or third-party certificate

To set up TLS on your server, you need a server certificate from an Internet certificate authority.

Note: This procedure describes the procedure used in Domino 11 and earlier versions. As of Domino 12, use of Certificate Manager and Certificate Store (certstore.nsf) is the preferred method for generating and managing certificates. For more information, see Managing TLS certificates with Certificate Manager.

You can use a self-signed certificate or one from a third-party certificate authority (CA). A server certificate is a binary file that uniquely identifies the server. The server certificate is stored on the server's hard drive and contains a public key, a name, an expiration date, and a digital signature. The key ring also contains root certificates used by the server to make trust decisions.

However, you can still use use OpenSSL (available on the Internet) and KYRTool (installed with Domino) to generate a keyring file for Domino servers to use. For instructions, see the article How to set up SSL using a third-party Certificate Authority (CA) on the HCL Software Support site.