FIRESIDE CHAT: New automated tools, practices ascend to help companies wrangle PKI

By Byron V. Acohido

Arguably one of the biggest leaps forward an enterprise can make in operational reliability, as well as security, is to shore up its implementations of the Public Key Infrastructure.

Companies have long relied on PKI to deploy and manage the digital certificates and cryptographic keys that authenticate and protect just about every sensitive digital connection you can name.

Reliance on PKI is only intensifying – as a direct result of the rise of massively interconnected digital systems. This has created a daunting operational and security challenge for many enterprises.

The good news is that a new batch of technical standards and protocols, as well as advanced tools and services, are on the ascension, as well.

Guest expert: Mike Malone, founder and CEO of Smallstep

One technology start-up in the thick of helping companies more effectively “wrangle” PKI is San Francico-based Smallstep, as Mike Malone, founder and CEO, puts it.

Smallstep launched in April 2022 with $26 million in funding, including a seed round of $7 million led by boldstart ventures with participation from Accel Partners, Bain Capital Ventures and Upside Partnership, LLC., and a Series A of $19 million led by StepStone Group.

I recently had the chance recently to visit with Malone; we discussed how advances in automation can help companies begin to proactively manage the swelling volume of digital certificates and encryption keys that are part and parcel of the massively interconnected digital systems. For a full drill down, please give the accompanying podcast a listen.

Acohido

Pulitzer Prize-winning business journalist Byron V. Acohido is dedicated to fostering public awareness about how to make the Internet as private and secure as it ought to be.

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(LW provides consulting services to the vendors we cover.)

February 8th, 2023