HTTPS (SSL Connections)

To use HTTPS following steps must be followed:

1. Create a new WinCC OA project on the server.

2. Extract the required certificate from the server:

   openssl s_client -connect localhost:443

3. Import the received certificate to the main keystore:

   bin\keytool -import -file <path to file> -keystore lib\security\cacerts -alias
                               WinCC OA -storepass xxxx

4. Connect via browser.

The server must have a certificate file, which tells the client with whom it talks. The certificate file must reside in a config directory and must have the name "certificate.pem". The format of the file is PEM.

Create a Certificate with a Certificate Authority

The first step is to choose an provider that will create the certificate (e.g. verisign.com). After entering the company-related data on the homepage, a CSR file (certificate signing request) and a private key are necessary.

• To generate the a new private key open the Shell of the operating system, change directory to the /config directory of the project:

and enter the following command:

openssl genrsa 2048 > privkey.pem

• The CSR file will be generated with the following command:

Now you have to enter the following data:

• Country (2 letter code, e.g. AT)

• State/County/Region (e.g. Burgenland)

• City/Locality (e.g. Eisenstadt)

• Organization/Company (e.g. © ETM professional control GmbH 2022 )

• Organizational Unit (optional, e.g. a particular department of the company)

• Common Name: [host+domain name] (e.g. www.etm.at)

• Email adress (leave empty)

• Password (leave empty)

• Optional company name (leave empty)

• The generated CSR file must be transferred to the provider which creates the certificate and send it back. Now you have to import the received certificate into the /config directory of the project and a HTTPS connection to the server is possible. A cipher suite is used for the encryption.

Create a self-signed Certificate

• In this example a private key (privkey.pem) is created.

• Change directory to the /config directory of the project:

Create the root key

• openssl genrsa -aes256 -out private/ca.key.pem 4096

• Enter pass phrase for ca.key.pem: secretpassword Verifying - Enter pass phrase for ca.key.pem: secretpassword

Create the root certificate

• Use the root key (ca.key.pem) to create a root certificate (ca.cert.pem). The root certificate must contain a long expiry date, e.g. 30 years. If the root certificate expires, the certificates signed by the CA become invalid.

  openssl req -config openssl.cnf
  -key private/ca.key.pem
  -new -x509 -days 10950 -sha256 -extensions v3_ca
  -out certs/ca.cert.pem

Verify the root certificate

• openssl x509 -noout -text -in certs/ca.cert.pem

Generate a Private Key

openssl genrsa 2048 > privkey.pem

• This file will be stored in the /config directory of the project. Enter the following openSSL command to create a new self-signed certificate:

openssl req -new -x509 -key privkey.pem -out certificate.pem -days 1095

1095 days are 3 years (defines the validity period for the certificate).

• After this, an interactive process is started, where the user must enter some information and confirm them using the Enter key. The "Common Name" is important for the HTTPS server - enter the IP address of the server. Otherwise the web browser will not be able to allocate the certificate to the server. For example:

Subsequently, the certificate.pem file is created and stored in the directory entered earlier.