Everything you should know about certificates and PKI but are too afraid to ask
Certificates and public key infrastructure (PKI) are hard. No shit, right? I know a lot of smart people who''ve avoided this particular rabbit hole. Eventually, I was forced to learn this stuff because of what it enables: PKI lets you define a system cryptographically. It''s universal and vendor-neutral yet poorly documented. This is the missing manual.
Everything you should know about certificates and PKI but are too afraid to ask Updated on: February 4, 2026 Mike Malone Follow Smallstep Certificates and public key infrastructure (PKI) are hard. No shit, right? I know a lot of smart people who've avoided this particular rabbit hole. Personally, I avoided it for a long time and felt some shame for not knowing more. The obvious result was a vicious cycle: I was too embarrassed to ask questions so I never learned. Eventually I was forced to learn this stuff because of what it enables: PKI lets you define a system cryptographically. It's univers
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