To authenticate individual users, you must
issue a unique client certificate to each GlobalProtect user and
deploy the client certificate to the endpoints prior to enabling
GlobalProtect. To automate the generation and deployment of user-specific
client certificates, you can configure your GlobalProtect portal to
act as a Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP) client to
a SCEP server in your enterprise PKI.
If you include
a client certificate in the portal configuration for mobile devices,
you can only use client certificate authentication in the gateway configuration
because the client certificate passphrase is saved in the portal
configuration. Additionally, the client certificate can only be
used after the certificate is retrieved from the portal configuration.
SCEP
operation is dynamic in that the enterprise PKI generates a user-specific certificate
when the portal requests it and sends the certificate to the portal.
The portal then deploys the certificate to the app transparently.
When a user requests access, the app can then present the client
certificate to authenticate with the portal or gateway.
The
GlobalProtect portal or gateway uses identifying information about
the endpoint and the user to evaluate whether to permit access to
the user. GlobalProtect blocks access if the host ID is on a device
block list or if the session matches any blocking options specified
in a certificate profile. If authentication fails due to an invalid
SCEP-based client certificate, the GlobalProtect app tries to authenticate
with the portal (based on the settings in the authentication profile)
and retrieve the certificate. If the app cannot retrieve the certificate
from the portal, the endpoint is not able to connect.