As per recent updates from Comodo Certificate Authority, EV SGC SSL has been discontinued and is no longer provided. We have also removed this item from the Namecheap website.
Why is EV SGC SSL discontinued?
SGC stands for Server Gated Cryptography and was introduced in the 1990s in the US. Since 40-bit or 56-bit encryption levels were the only ones allowed by the United States federal legislation on the export of strong cryptography, SGC certificates were designed to enable the standard 128-bit encryption in web browsers. Today, the need for SGC certificates has almost disappeared , as the majority of browsers are by default capable of 128-bit and 256-bit encryption, the latest security standards.
Thus, Comodo CA sunsets EV SGC SSL, even though it is compatible with SHA-2.
What if I have already purchased such a certificate? What if I have it issued and installed on the server?
If you activated your certificate before August 1, You can complete activation of an already purchased EV SGC SSL without any errors. You will only receive a message about this certificate deprecation. If you activate it after August 1, Namecheap will automatically switch you over to Comodo EV SSL, which is a very similar product, except that it does not use the obsolete SGC technology.
Issued Comodo EV SGC SSL certificates can be used up to their expiration dates. They are not affected and will continue securing your site without any changes (until you reissue or renew them).
I need to renew the certificate. What’s my alternative?
Please consider Comodo EV SSL which has Extended Validation like its predecessor. Also, Comodo EV SSL automatically encrypts at a higher level than the EV SGC SSL certificate.
Here is the example of the green bar that appears for all Extended Validation certificates:
Upon renewal of EV SGC SSL starting August 1, you will have an option of purchasing a Comodo EV SSL certificate instead. The reissue of all activated EV SGC certificates will be possible until their expiry date. However, the newly issued certificate will be a Comodo EV SSL as well.
