
Ask HN: Conspiracy theory – What motivation is behind Let's Encrypt? - luczsoma
Some (e.g. https:&#x2F;&#x2F;sockpuppet.org&#x2F;blog&#x2F;2015&#x2F;01&#x2F;15&#x2F;against-dnssec) concluded that DNSSEC&#x2F;DANE&#x27;s real role would be the replacement of the TLS CA system, granting DNS-controlling entities (i.e. governments) the same cryptographic authority as CAs. Let me initiate a discussion about something that may sound absolutely ridiculous: what if Let&#x27;s Encrypt was founded for the exact same long-run purpose?<p>The Internet Security Research Group maintaining Let&#x27;s Encrypt seems quite independent. But Let&#x27;s Encrypt is free. It already has 0.1% market share (https:&#x2F;&#x2F;w3techs.com&#x2F;technologies&#x2F;overview&#x2F;ssl_certificate&#x2F;all) despite being on the market for only 5 years. Isn&#x27;t this simply too good to be true &amp; trusted?
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jamieweb
I don't personally think there's a conspiracy, but I'd definitely like to see
an LE 'competitor' \- one that is equally as free and open, but not in any way
related to the ISRG.

LE is currently a big single point of failure, and I want to be able to point
my ACME client somewhere else if I need to.

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phillipseamore
Have you checked out Buypass?
[https://www.buypass.com/ssl/products/acme](https://www.buypass.com/ssl/products/acme)

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citruspi
Not the person you're replying to, but I'm a huge fan of Let's Encrypt and
ACME.

I wasn't aware of Buypass and it looks awesome, unfortunately however it
doesn't appear to support SAN or wildcard certificates which could be a
dealbreaker for a few (that said, it could also be considered a feature).

But thanks for bringing it up and raising awareness of alternative ACME
providers, I'm probably going to spend some time playing around with Buypass
Go this week.

Edit: It also appears that Buypass Go certificates are valid for 180 days as
opposed to Let's Encrypt's 90 days (haven't verified this yet), which is
interesting. I've simply become accustomed to the 90 day LE validity, I'm
curious why they went with 180 days.

