Root Causes: A PKI and Security Podcast

In this episode we explain that all cellular networks, contrary to popular belief, are fundamentally insecure.

In this episode we walk through the evolution of the war on cryptography, from the beginning up through today, terminating in what we call Crypto War 3.0.

Sectigo today announced the acquisition of the Entrust public CA business. Entrust will go forward as a Sectigo reseller. Join us to learn the details.

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Michela Mosca. We discuss his pioneering work identifying the need for post-quantum cryptography, where PQC stands today, and what the future may hold.

2024 set in motion major changes for certificate lifespans and DCV. In this episode we discuss the Apple 47-day proposal, stepping down certificate term, public versus private CA use cases, DCV reuse periods, MPIC, WHOIS, and other topics.

Apple has added itself to the Entrust distrust and has extended this distrust to S/MIME and VMC. We explain.

We had a remarkable year on the Root Causes podcast in terms of our guests. We look back at the extremely expert guests we were lucky to talk about in 2024.

In this 2024 lookback episode, we give an overview of the firestorm of Bugzilla incidents that we refer to as the Bugzilla Bloodbath. The Bugzilla Bloodbath affected actions around the Entrust distrust, delayed revocation reform, 47-day SSL certificate maximum term, linting, and more.

We talk with guest Sofia Celi of Brave Browser, who leads the IETF PQC standardization effort, about the process of setting standards for PQC-compatible digital certificates. We learn about expected timelines, hybrid strategies, the NIST PQC onramp's role, and more.

The old adage states that a monkey in front of a keyboard, given enough time, could randomly type the works of Shakespeare. Apparently, someone ran the numbers and said not so much. We break it down and explain why we're discussing this on a PKI podcast.

2024 was an eventful year for post quantum cryptography (PQC). This includes FIPS standards, the PQC onramp, and the dawn of widespread interest among IT professionals.

We go over our predictions for 2024 and score our ability as prognosticators.

It was a crazy year for CA/Browser Forum activity, with nearly three times the normal number of ballots. Guest Martijn Katerbarg goes over the 32 CABF ballots from 2024.

We make our 2025 predictions. Topics include maximum certificate term, AI, post-quantum cryptography (PQC), deep fakes, and more.

Repeat guest Bruno Coulliard of Crypto4A joins us to define a quantum-safe (or PQC enabled) hardware security module.

We go over Tim's September 2024 keynote speech at ENISA CA Day, "The Privilege of Being a Public CA."

As part of its post-quantum cryptography (PQC) initiative NIST has released a draft deprecating RSA-2048 and ECC 256 by 2030 and disallowing them by 2035. We get into the details.

Tim has stepped into the position of vice-chair of the CA/Browse Forum, and Sectigo now holds five chair or vice-chair positions in that body. We explain how leadership is chosen, the offices Sectigo holds today, and some of our vision for CABF in the next two years.

We take a deep dive into the seven reasons shorter certificate lifespans are better.

We discuss how a potential break of Chrome from Google would affect the WebPKI. We look at product changes, resourcing, post-quantum cryptography (PQC), innovation, moonshot initiatives, and other public CAs.

In this episode we discuss the challenges for enterprises using Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS).

Apple has published an updated draft to its proposal for shortening the lifespan of SSL certificates, including a final maximum term of 47 rather than 45 days. We explain.

A new White House initiative requires that federal agencies need to create plans to thwart BGP attacks. We discuss, including Resource PKI (RPKI) and Multi-Perspective Issuance Corroboration (MPIC).

We talk about public key directories and complicating factors such as Tailscale, VPN, TOR, Cloudflare, and Zero Trust.

NIST has narrowed its PQC onramp contest to 15 candidates. We go over who remains and the makeup of the remaining candidates.