1. What is the HSA / What can it do?
The iQSol HSA is an HSM appliance that enables the use of a Yubico “YubiHSM” within the network. HSM stands for Hardware Security Module – a fingernail-sized device that physically protects sensitive data such as digital keys and certificates, like a vault for digital secrets. The HSA secures PKI certificates and keys, whereby multiple servers can be safely connected through 16 domains, ensuring that keys cannot be read across systems. This means every server has its own isolated area so that data remains separated.
With the ACME/EST add-on, the HSA enables automated certificate renewal for Linux and Windows systems, with clients retrieving and renewing certificates via these protocols. A key advantage of the HSA is its simple operation through the setup wizard and menus, including backup, logging, and clustering. This makes it ideal for beginners in the PKI world, as everything is menu-driven and no deep technical expertise is required.
2. What does the HSA provide / What can be saved?
The HSA brings massively increased security and automation into your IT environment: it prevents downtime caused by expired certificates, which could otherwise bring entire systems to a halt, by supporting the entire lifecycle of certificates and enabling automated renewal through protocols such as ACME/EST. With the HSA you save time (no more manual certificate renewals that can take hours), costs (cheaper than traditional HSMs, which are usually expensive and complicated, and no specialists required thanks to the simple operation), and resources (fewer outages mean less costly downtime). Your added value: proactive protection against cyberattacks, since your keys never leave the HSM and are therefore secure from hackers.
3. What distinguishes the HSA from similar applications?
Ease of use and price are the big advantages of the HSA. In contrast to complex HSMs, which are often like a labyrinth to operate, it is controlled easily through menus and is based on the affordable YubiHSM, one of the smallest and most energy-efficient modules on the market.
Functions such as automated certificate renewal via protocols like ACME/EST, clustering for high availability, and integration with Windows CA make the HSA more user-friendly than many competing products, which require costly experts or complicated configuration. This provides hardware security plus failover without unnecessary effort: the HSA is robust but not overloaded and is perfectly suited for medium-sized companies that need security without employing an entire IT team for it. In addition, the appliance is 100 percent “Made in Austria” – developed in Austria, with German-speaking support provided directly by the manufacturer.
4. What is the advantage of the HSA / of using it?
The HSA offers maximum security with minimal effort: automated certificate management with email alerts reduces risks and outages by making certificates manageable for clients through protocols such as ACME/EST and notifying you in time in case of problems. The appliance is affordable, flexible (different hardware models), and easy to configure – you simply connect the HSA to the network, follow the instructions in the wizard and in the detailed user manual, and you are ready to go. Your advantages: time savings (less manual work), compliance with regulations (GDPR/ISO), protection against attacks – ideal for admins who want to manage PKI efficiently without losing themselves in technical details, and thus have more time for other tasks.
5. Why is the topic so important?
Certificates are essential everywhere (for websites, VPN connections, or IoT devices such as smart sensors), but expired certificates cause costly downtimes because systems suddenly stop working. Ransomware and supply-chain attacks are omnipresent – HSM technology like the iQSol HSA physically protects keys by storing them in a secure hardware module, unreachable for hackers. This is important for prevention (preventing rather than repairing), compliance (fulfilling legal requirements), and resilience (resistance against threats) – without automation in PKI management, companies face incalculable risks, as manual processes are error-prone and cyber threats are constantly increasing.
Our tip for your ROI:
Ask your administrators how many certificates are in use and how many minutes per year, per certificate, are spent!
How many minutes of downtime per year are caused by expired certificates?
Glossary:
ACME/EST add-on – protocols for automated certificate management
Backup – backup copy
Clustering – combining several devices for failover, i.e. high availability
GDPR/ISO – data protection and security standards
Email alerts – notification by email in case of problems
Keys – “secret codes”
Logging – recording of activities
PKI – infrastructure for secure online communication
Windows CA – Windows Certificate Authorities, i.e. issuers of certificates
Certificates – digital IDs
