For certificates to work, we need a system of trust. We need to know that each certificate is valid and was properly issued. This is the role of the certificate authorities (CAs). In the second part of this series, we’ll explore the role of CAs and how certificates are validated. We’ll also look at creating a private CA using a self-signed certificate.

Despite decades of use, certificates tend to be a mystery to most developers. At their root, they are largely more than a collection of name-value pairs and a public key. The majority of people that work with certificates regularly often run into situations where they need to understand the details of how they work. In this post, we’ll dive into the basics and learn what’s in these files.

If you can code it, someone will find a way to exploit it ( accidentally or intentionally). Anytime development efforts are involved, it’s important to minimize security risks and bugs. This is also true with GitHub Actions, which allows you to script advanced automation solutions. Because of this, it’s important to understand where injection can occur and how to avoid it.

You might be less secure than you think! In a crowded market of security tools, developers are being sold a dream that quickly turns into a nightmare.