Episode 450: Device Attestation and CAs in 2026

PKI can be a real adventure, from dealing with minting certificates, to their whole lifecycle, all the way down to who trusts what and why. We’re here this week with Smallstep’s CEO Mike Malone to talk about device attestation, their latest projects, and everything about how we learn to better trust each other when we can, and what to do when we can’t.

Hosts:

• Tom Bridge, CTO, I.M.P. Concerts – @tbridge@theinternet.social
• Marcus Ransom, Senior Sales Engineer, Jamf – @marcusransom

Guests:

• Mike Malone, CEO, Smallstep – LinkedIn

Links:

• https://smallstep.com/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Certificate_Management_Environment
• https://letsencrypt.org/docs/client-options/
• https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/07/30/3124136/0/en/Smallstep-and-Jamf-Partner-to-Deliver-Hardware-Backed-Device-Identity-for-Enterprise-Managed-Apple-Fleets.html
• Apple JNUC 2025 Presentation on Apple Platform Security https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wj2Oc-LUMQ
• https://smallstep.com/product/ai-and-mcp/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zooko_Wilcox-O%27Hearn

Listen:

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