Root Causes: A PKI and Security Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Root Causes 177: What Is Passwordless? Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

A hot, new topic in the identity space is passwordless. Join our hosts as they explain credential form factors and offer a specific definition of passwordless, including the difference between PINs and passwords.

Root Causes 176: Introducing State-Locality Exclusivity Aug 05, 2021

Show notes

Sectigo is implementing an important change to its public-facing SSL certificate business, which we call State-Locality Exclusivity. This change removes a the localityName field, a very common field in SSL certificates. In this episode our hosts explain what the localityName field is, why we are removing it, and how this change is to the benefit of SSL Subscribers and Relying Parties.

Root Causes 175: What Is a Linter? Aug 02, 2021

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Linters have been a standard programming tool for more than four decades. This venerable coding tool has recently taken on new significant in the world of public certificates. In this episode our hosts explain linters and how they are applied to SSL certificates.

Root Causes 174: Windows 11 and TPMs Jul 27, 2021

Show notes

Microsoft has announced that its upcoming Windows 11 release will require TPM 2.0 support at a minimum. TPM 2.0 enables more modern hashing and encryption algorithms than previous versions. Our hosts discuss the implications of this announcement.

Root Causes 173: Whitelisting and Blocklisting Jul 22, 2021

Show notes

Whitelisting and blocklisting are tried and true elements of the computer industry. In this episode our hosts define whitelisting and blocklisting and the pros and cons of either, with lots of examples from the real world. We discuss fuzzy entities, the scaling problem, layered defenses, and the trouble with active attackers.

Root Causes 172: What Is an NFT? Jul 13, 2021

Show notes

If you have paid any attention at all to popular media in the past few months, you will have heard about non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. NFTs are a method of uniquely identifying a digital asset using blockchain technology, and they are big news in the art and media world. Join our hosts as they explain the difference between fungible and non-fungible tokens, how NFTs work, and the significance of publicly asserting ownership for digital files.

Root Causes 171: The Off-by-One-Second Problem Jul 08, 2021

Show notes

Today our hosts explore an esoteric but important error in public certificates that we call the off-by-one-second problem. We explain this problem, how it occurs, and its broader implications.

Root Causes 170: Why Is Canada So Good at Cryptography? Jul 01, 2021

Show notes

In celebration of Canada Day, our hosts discuss why Canada in particular offers a disproportionately large contribution to cryptography. We examine historic reasons and the real-world consequences of Canada being a center for cryptographic excellence.

Root Causes 169: Bitcoin and the Anonymity Fallacy Jun 25, 2021

Show notes

In the developing story of the Colonial pipeline ransomware attack, the FBI recently recovered the ransom money, which had been paid in Bitcoin. In this episode we talk about how this recovery might have occurred.

Root Causes 168: The Difference Between e-Signing and Digital Signing Jun 21, 2021

Show notes

In our technology discussions we frequently run into confusion about the relationship between electronic document signing and digital document signing. Despite the similarity in names, they are entirely different technological approaches to providing trustworthy electronic signed documents. In this episode we explain the two terms, their distinct definitions, and some of the pros and cons of each approach.

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