Root Causes Podcast

SSL is not the only regulated type of digital certificate. We discuss the rules for S/MIME, eIDAS, code signing, document signing, and SSH certificates.

We describe the various ways in which cryptocurrency can be stolen, including private key compromise, broker security failure, and login credential theft.

Passwordless is a hot topic in identity. We explain credential form factors and offer a specific definition of passwordless.

Sectigo is implementing an important change to its public-facing SSL certificate business called State-Locality Exclusivity. We explain in this episode.

Linters are a venerable coding tool has recently taken on new significant in the world of public certificates. Our hosts explain.

Whitelisting and blocklisting are tried and true elements of the computer industry. We define them and discuss their pros and cons.

Microsoft has announced that its upcoming Windows 11 release will require TPM 2.0 support at a minimum. We discuss the implications of this announcement.

Non-fungible tokens uniquely identify digital assets using blockchain. We explain how NFTs work, and public assertion of ownership for digital files.

We explore an error in public certificates that we call the off-by-one-second problem. We explain this problem and its broader implications.

Happy Canada Day! In celebration, we discuss why Canada is disproportionately good at cryptography.

The FBI recently recovered the Colonial pipeline ransom money, which had been paid in Bitcoin. In this episode we talk about how this might have occurred.

In our technology discussions we frequently run into confusion between electronic document signing and digital document signing. This episode explains.

In 2019 the Kazakh government attempted to force its citizens to trust its private root. A recent research paper examines this attack.

The Colonial pipeline has captured the news cycles in recent weeks. Our hosts unpack what it known about this attack and how digital identity & PKI fit in.

We explain proof of work and proof of stake as blockchain consensus algorithms, the trouble with proof of work, and the future of consensus algorithms.

Of all aspects of public SSL certificates, few are as controversial as the OU field. Our hosts explain why this field is an industry flashpoint.

We explore out-of-band phone calling as a MFA method, including, what attacks it defends against successfully, and what attacks can circumvent it.

Our hosts discuss the key qualities of credential form factors, how they are distinct from their infrastructure, and the minimum capabilities of PKI.