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what if the hacker provided the public key for https connection? (www.youtube.com)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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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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[–] 15 points 2 years 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or even simple errors are reasons for getting kicked out, after which certificates signed by those CAs are now no longer valid.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years 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?

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years 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.

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