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Pick your path

Choose the line that sounds most like you. Each path has a 10-minute start, a one-hour plan and a way to go deep. None of it needs an account.

New to this

You have heard of HTTPS and padlocks and want to know what is really going on. No maths or code needed.

10 minutes

  1. Read the first crash course lesson: Secrets and the sharing problem
  2. Meet Ken, Rosa and the villains: the cast

1 hour

  1. Crash course lessons 1 to 3: the crash course
  2. The plain-words start of each chapter in Part I: Chapter 1, The idea
  3. Then Chapter 3, key pairs

Go deep

  1. Read Parts I and II of the handbook
  2. Look up any word in the glossary
  3. Explore one subject at a time: the topics
  4. Play the first levels of the game: Keystone

Developer

You write code that calls HTTPS APIs, and a certificate error is in your way right now, or will be soon.

10 minutes

  1. Find your exact message on the error pages
  2. Or paste it into the error finder

1 hour

  1. Chapters 12 to 15: trust stores
  2. chains and path validation
  3. the TLS 1.3 handshake
  4. Then follow how to check the chain a server sends

Go deep

  1. Everything on chains and trust stores
  2. Make your stack trust a private CA: Python, Node.js and npm
  3. Keep the cheat sheet
  4. Then mutual TLS

IT ops and platform

You run servers, load balancers and Kubernetes, and certificate renewals are part of your week.

10 minutes

  1. Read what's changing in PKI
  2. Plan renewals with the lifetime calendar

1 hour

  1. Chapters 19 to 22: inventory, expiry and renewal
  2. ACME and the 47-day schedule
  3. a CA of your own
  4. Work through the short-lived certificates checklist

Go deep

  1. Everything on lifecycle and automation
  2. Install and renew: the how-to guides for your servers
  3. Mutual TLS
  4. The error pages for your stack: all error pages

Security and PKI expert

You design or audit PKI. You want precise wording, primary sources and the current rules.

10 minutes

  1. Skim how we explain revocation in depth
  2. Check our sources in the standards index

1 hour

  1. Chapters 16 to 18: revocation
  2. Certificate Transparency
  3. famous failures

Go deep

  1. Chapters 21, 22 and 26: HSMs and key ceremonies
  2. private two-tier PKI
  3. post-quantum cryptography
  4. Everything on private PKI
  5. Then the timeline

Reviewing us? Tell us anything you would word differently.

Leader

You lead a team or own the risk. You need the picture, the dates and the decisions, without the maths.

10 minutes

  1. Read PKI for leaders in 10 minutes

1 hour

  1. Work through the crash course
  2. It takes about 90 minutes in all; lessons 8 and 9 matter most for risk: Running PKI

Go deep

  1. Read the dates in what's changing
  2. Give your teams the preparation checklist
  3. Every chapter ends with a short box for you: an example
  4. Train your people with Teams (coming soon)

Teacher

You teach 12 to 18-year-olds or adult learners and want a ready lesson that is accurate and fun.

10 minutes

  1. Read the teachers' page

1 hour

  1. The 45-minute lesson plan and worksheet are on the teachers' page
  2. They follow crash course lessons 1 to 4: the crash course

Go deep

  1. Characters your class will remember: the cast
  2. Words in plain English: the glossary
  3. One subject per lesson: the topics
  4. The game's first levels, playable now: Play