Articles that go around in circles while avoiding reflection or synthesis are infuriating. Of course relying on the PKI isn't going to magically solve every problem. But the article wasn't titled "Why you can't trust the PKI", because we're all bored of reading about that.<p>At a certain point, you <i>must</i> choose some <i>immutable</i> trust root. If your kink is to use public CAs (fuck me harder, (go)daddy), it implies attacks. If you chose to setup your own private signing key, it implies attacks. If you choose longest sha256 chain ("blockchain"), it implies attacks. If you simply stop trying to retain absolute control over devices after they're owned by someone else, it implies attacks.<p>You can hardcode further constraints as mitigations, but the fundamental drawbacks remain. If you want direct synthesis from the immediate complaint, keep a bit of a state to ensure that the date only ever moves monotonically forward. However you'll still be open to an attack if the device is off while a certificate is compromised.