Root Causes: A PKI and Security Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Root Causes 157: New Revocation Research Mar 19, 2021

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A recently published study of public revocation information takes a numerical approach to revocation behavior from CAs. Our hosts give their first take on this paper and the idea of "revocation transparency."

Root Causes 156: Kazakhstan Root Attack Revisited Mar 16, 2021

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In the summer of 2019 the Kazakh government attempted to force its citizens to trust its private root, enabling MITM attacks for a variety of potentially nefarious purposes. A recent research paper goes into previously unknown detail about who was targeted and how the regime sought to abuse this short-lived exploit.

Root Causes 155: What’s Good for Subscribers Is Good for Relying Parties Mar 11, 2021

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In this episode we explore the relationship between Relying Parties (aka users of online services) and Certificate Subscribers (aka providers of these services). We discuss the common attitude that certificate requirements that negatively impact Subscribers are inconsequential. We explain the downstream effects of certificate incidents and why unthinkingly forcing rules on service providers without considering the full consequences is detrimental to everyone.

Root Causes 154: Did Claus Peter Schnorr Just Break RSA? Mar 08, 2021

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A recently published paper by a reputable German mathematician and cryptographer has garnered widespread attention for its claim to have destroyed the RSA algorithm. However, many people are skeptical. Join us as we discuss the paper's content, the proposed methodology, and the public discussion it has generated.

Root Causes 153: Too Many Roots Mar 05, 2021

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Trust models in multi-vendor environments can be particularly tricky.
We are joined once again by Tom Tansy, Chairman of the SunSpec Alliance for a deep dive in the challenges and best practices in maintaining trusted roots in complex, global supply chain ecosystems.

Root Causes 152: Digital Certificates and the SunSpec Alliance Mar 02, 2021

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The SunSpec Alliance is an important source of standards for clean energy infrastructure including solar and electric vehicles. To protect our electrical infrastructure and ensure proper functioning, digital identity and certificates are a necessity. Join us and guest Tom Tansy as we discuss how SunSpec employs PKI to this end.

Root Causes 151: What Is Rustls? Feb 22, 2021

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Rustls is an important emerging alternative to OpenSSL. In this episode we discuss the Rust programming language and the implications of the fact that is was designed with security in mind from the ground up. This includes how Rustls is protected against attack vectors that have been effective in the past, including Heartbleed. Join us to learn more.

Root Causes 150: This Podcast Is Not About Alan Turing Feb 14, 2021

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Recent news of the discovery of abandoned Enigma machines on the ocean floor inspires our hosts to discuss history's most famous code system, how it was broken, and how that relates to cryptography today.

Root Causes 149: Municipal Water Poisoning Through Cyber Attack Feb 11, 2021

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In past episodes we have discussed the possibility of cyber attack against civil infrastructure like utilities. That possibility recently became real with the attempted poisoning of a Florida city's water supply through online security breach. Learn more on this episode.

Root Causes 148: Can Australia Force Sites to Pay for Linking to Content? Feb 08, 2021

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A proposed law in Australia would require sites linking to news articles to pay for the right to link to these articles. While this law appears to be aimed at Google and Facebook, it has implications that are much bigger than these two news aggregators. Google has upped the ante by offering to cease operations in Australia before doing so. In this episode we discuss this ongoing development and where things go from here.

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