My Book Bulletproof TLS and PKI (Second Edition) Is Out
Hello HN. I am excited to share with you my new book, Bulletproof TLS and PKI. I've worked in this space since the very early days (think SSLv2), always frustrated with the fact that the field is vast but the documentation poor. That first led me to create SSL Labs (which ended up being very popular) and then the first edition of my book (in 2014), where I aimed to cover everything a curious person needed to know about SSL/TLS and PKI. Most importantly, it's a very practical book that you can use to just learn what you need at that moment. The second edition (just out) adds coverage of…
In plain words
Bulletproof TLS and PKI (Second Edition) is a comprehensive guide to transport layer security and public key infrastructure. Written for developers, system administrators, and security professionals who need practical knowledge about SSL/TLS protocols and PKI implementation, the book covers foundational concepts through TLS 1.3. It functions as a reference that readers can consult for specific topics as needed, with free sample chapters and an OpenSSL Cookbook available. The second edition updates content to remain current with evolving cryptographic standards.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hello HN. I am excited to share with you my new book, Bulletproof TLS and PKI. I've worked in this space since the very early days (think SSLv2), always frustrated with the fact that the field is vast but the documentation poor. That first led me to create SSL Labs (which ended up being very popular) and then the first edition of my book (in 2014), where I aimed to cover everything a curious person needed to know about SSL/TLS and PKI. Most importantly, it's a very practical book that you can use to just learn what you need at that moment. The second edition (just out) adds coverage of TLS 1.3. I publish two chapters as a separate (and free) OpenSSL Cookbook. There's another free sample chapter as well. The best part of Bulletproof TLS and PKI is that it's a living book. There's nothing worse than obsolete documentation! Because none of the traditional publishers were interested in that sort of thing, we did everything ourselves. The manuscript is in DocBook, I write using OxygenXML, my copyeditor uses it as well, and there's a nightly build process that generates everything. We can even show exact differences across versions, for example you can see that here: https://blog.ivanristic.com/2022/02/bulletproof-tls-and-pki-... I hope you'll enjoy the book.
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Hello! This project is a TLS/X.509 certificate manager and PKI. Designed to provision and install your TLS certificates across public and private endpoints. It's something I created for my home lab, but has quickly expanded as I have been experimenting more and more with AI development tooling. You can see the product overview: https://www.zaita.com It's architecture and usage is nicely documented: https://docs.zaita.com Unfortunately, you do need to sign up to have a play, but there is a demo instance that doesn't require a credit card. Just enter an email (I won't…
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