Google let a certificate linked to the Gmail SMTP server expire, causing issues for third-party email clients Google forgot to renew one of its TLS certificates, leading to service disruption Saturday for people using Gmail through third-party email clients. The problem was fixed in a matter of hours, but should serve as a reminder to online service operators that keeping track of digital certificate expiration dates is important and should be planned for in advance. Some users reported Saturday on Twitter and other sites that email clients like Microsoft Outlook and OS X Mail were displaying certificate errors when trying to send email messages through smtp.gmail.com. It seems that it wasn’t the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server’s certificate that expired, but one higher up in the chain that corresponded to Google Internet Certificate Authority G2 — an intermediate certificate authority operated by Google. When SSL/TLS certificates are validated by software applications, all certificates they link back to need to be valid as well. In this case the certificate for smtp.gmail.com had been issued by Google Internet Authority G2, which had in turn been issued by GeoTrust Global CA. According to the Gmail status page, it took Google around two and a half hours to fix the problem, which affected “a majority of users.” The certificate was renewed and is now set to expire on Dec. 31, 2016. While operators of large online services typically monitor their certificates closely, similar expiration incidents have occurred before and when they do, they can have serious consequences. In February 2013, an expired certificate issue disrupted the Microsoft Azure service worldwide for around a day. Since Azure is a cloud computing platform, many third-party services relying on it were affected as well. Related content news Dropbox adds end-to-end encryption for team folders Dropbox this week unveiled a range of features, including security updates and key management, and the ability to co-edit Microsoft 365 documents from within the file-sharing app. By Matthew Finnegan Apr 26, 2024 3 mins Cloud Storage Collaboration Software Productivity Software feature Android versions: A living history from 1.0 to 15 Explore Android's ongoing evolution with this visual timeline of versions, starting B.C. (Before Cupcake) and going all the way to 2024's Android 15 (beta) release. By JR Raphael Apr 26, 2024 23 mins Small and Medium Business Smartphones Android news analysis The unspoken obnoxiousness of Google's Gemini improvements Google's Gemini chatbot is seeing all sorts of upgrades on Android this week, but those advancements reveal a darker underlying reality. By JR Raphael Apr 26, 2024 12 mins Google Assistant Google Android news analysis Google can’t seem to quit cookies, delays killing them again Google cited regulatory challenges in its oft-delayed plans to phase out third-party cookies from its Chromium products. It now plans to eliminate cookies in 2025 By Lucas Mearian Apr 25, 2024 5 mins Chrome Browser Security Chrome OS Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe