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what if the hacker provided the public key for https connection? (www.youtube.com)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

43 comments fedilink hide all child comments

So this video explains how https works. What I don't get is what if a hacker in the middle pretended to be the server and provided me with the box and the public key. wouldn't he be able to decrypt the message with his private key? I'm not a tech expert, but just curious and trying to learn.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago (3 children)

It is indeed true that some CAs have seriously misbehaved; however, browser builders are rather strict on the presence of the CAs they trust. Misbehaving or even simple errors are reasons for getting kicked out, after which certificates signed by those CAs are now no longer valid.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Misbehaving or even simple errors are reasons for getting kicked out,

That can be helpful if a transgression is noticed, and it's not orchestrated by a higher authority (e.g. government), and the damage isn't already done.

browser builders are rather strict on the presence of the CAs they trust.

Of course, browser builders are vulnerable to influence, attack, accidents, questionable judgment, and blind spots just as certificate authorities are.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I agree, it’s far from perfect.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I'm somewhat skeptical. What if LetsEncrypt decided to misbehave tomorrow? Would the browsers have the guts to shut it down and break all sites using it?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Not the browser companies. The parent CA would revoke Let's Encrypt's certs and publish that revocation in the certificate revocation list. When the browser (software, running on your system) downloads the new CRL, they will automatically stop trusting LE.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Yes, they will. We’ve seen it before in mostly less serious cases: Diginotar, Türktrust, Symantec, etc. As brittle as the CA system can be, when there is real enough trouble, CAs do get revoked.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The certs are still valid.
They are just not implicitly trusted

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

You are technically correct, best kind of correct