Root Causes: A PKI and Security Podcast

These days we frequently discuss "the WebPKI." But what does that really mean? In this episode we define the term and explain how this definition evolved over time. We give an inventory of a main components of the WebPKI and discuss what's required to become a CA.

We take a deep dive with return guest Bruno Coulliard on HSMs and the role they play in post-quantum cryptography (PQC).

Recent court documents reveal that in 2016 Meta (then Facebook) set up a system to get around encryption and spy on traffic between its users and competing social media platforms. We explain what happened.

We discuss misuse of wildcard certificates, failure to revoke on time, and how these two failures magnify each other.

Jason has a new title, Senior Fellow. In this episode Jason explains what his new focus will be and how this will be good for Root Causes.

An epidemic of delayed revocations has infected the public CA community. We track delayed revocations since the beginning of 2021, examine the trend line, and discuss root causes.

New malware photographs users' faces to defeat authentication mechanisms. We explain the that biometrics are not "secrets" and discuss the continuing progression of attacks to steal biometrics.

A newly revealed side channel attack enables theft of private keys from M-series Apple chips. We explain.

Repeat guest Bruno Coulliard gives us an update on the US government's migration to post-quantum cryptography (PQC). We talk about the challenges to migration, the possibility of a black swan event in achieving quantum supremacy, and what happens if we all respond by pressing the "panic button" at the same time.

Inexpensive and easily obtained deepfake photographs of IDs, generated by AI, are available online. These pose a problem for KYC initiatives.

In the latest in our ongoing series of discussions of the Bugzilla Bloodbath, we delve deep into the problem of failure to revoke on time and the multiple causes that lead to this ongoing failure. And what to do about them.

If you issue public certificates that are fully compliant except that they do not reflect what your CPS says, are they misissued? Do they require revocation? This is a question with real stakes as we see multiple current instances of a CA denying revocation for that reason. In this episode we explore this issue.

Gartner has released a new framework for Certificate Lifecycle Management, called the Seven Core Functions of Certificate Automation. We walk through this framework and answer how it fits in with our own Five Pillars of CLM.

In this guest episode we discuss name space hygiene with Geir Rasmussen, founder of NodeZro. CNAMEs, SPF, DMARC, name server entries, and other DNS identifiers, left unattended, can expose companies to identity-based attacks. We lay out the steps in addressing name space cleanup.

NIST Cyber Security Framework version 2.0 is released. It includes guidance on identity management and authentication. In this first episode of a series, we describe this framework's basic structure and its effect on industry.

A massive name space attack has hijacked more than 21,000 domains and subdomains, including a who's who list of major global brands. This huge and innovative attack takes advantage of inherited trust in abandoned domains. We explain what is happening.

It's a bloodbath on Bugzilla. Since March 9, more than 25 new Bugzilla bugs been written up, which is 10x the typical pace. And it's not over. In this episode we explain what is going on and why.

A ballot for Multi-perspective Issuance Corroboration (MPIC), formerly known as MPDV, has entered a discussion period in the CA/Browser Forum (CABF). We explain the details of what it contains.

An evolving incident on Bugzilla has garnered a lot of attention and touches several important issues in the WebPKI ecosystem. We report what went on and unpack the issues involved.

Apple has announced that iMessage will employ post-quantum cryptography (PQC). We explain the implications of this announcement.

What has been known as CRYSTALS-Kyber now has the new official name of Module Lattice-based Key Encryption Module, or ML-KEM. We give an update on the state of the NIST round 3 winners.

A story circulated earlier this year about a botnet composed of millions of IoT toothbrushes, which later was debunked. We tell you the whole tale.

eIDAS 2.0 has been making headlines recently with its proposed expansion to the European digital identity ecosystem. But what is eIDAS? What does it do, and why does it exist? In this episode we give you the basics.

In this episode we explain subdomain hijacking, including dangling subdomains and how they can constitute vulnerabilities.

Deepfakes continue to show themselves as part of the standard criminal toolkit. A recent deepfake spear phish enabled a $25 million Business Email Compromise (BEC). We explain what happened.