# Andrew Ayer
Building since 2013. Not reviewed by Andrew.
Page: https://mrrmaker.com/@andrewayer
Bootstrapped SSLMate since 2014; launched Cert Spotter (2016)
In their words: "I'm a software engineer who works on security, usability, networking, and cryptography. […] I'm the bootstrapped founder of SSLMate" (agwa.name)

## Numbers
- Products: 12
- Building since: 2013

## Products
- DNS Helper (2022 →): running
- Cert Spotter (2016 →): running
- SSLMate (2014 →): running
- CT Search API: dates not stated in any source
- Certificate Transparency Policy Analyzer: dates not stated in any source
- DCV Inspector: dates not stated in any source
- CRL Watch: dates not stated in any source
- git-crypt: dates not stated in any source

## Timeline
- Nov 2019: Cert Spotter: Launched a new version of Cert Spotter with expiration monitoring and a web dashboard [stated]
- Apr 2018: SSLMate became his full-time job [stated]
- Apr 2018: SSLMate: Released SSLMate for SaaS, a service that gets certificates for the customer domains a SaaS company hosts [stated]
- Dec 2017: On Brown CS Blog, Alum Adventures profile [stated]
- Mar 2017: SSLMate: Started operating a Certificate Transparency gossip endpoint [stated]
- Jan 2017: Published research on 108 improperly issued Symantec certificates, found through Certificate Transparency logs [stated]
- Jul 2016: Launched Cert Spotter [stated]
- Apr 2015: SSLMate: Released its first public REST API [stated]
- Sep 2014: SSLMate: Stopped selling multi-year certificates [stated]
- Apr 2014: SSLMate: Sold the first certificate [stated]
- 2014: Launched SSLMate [stated]

## How sure
15 verified by someone other than Andrew, 69 stated by Andrew in public, 0 outdated. Read on 11 Oct 2026.

## Sources
- Andrew Ayer, agwa.name: https://agwa.name
- Projects - Andrew Ayer, agwa.name: https://agwa.name/projects
- github.com: https://api.github.com/users/AGWA
- bsky.app: https://bsky.app/profile/agwa.name
- About SSLMate, sslmate.com: https://sslmate.com/about
- Making Certificates Easier and Helping the Ecosystem: Four Years of SSLMate, agwa.name: https://www.agwa.name/blog/post/four_years_of_sslmate
- Introducing Cert Spotter: Easy Certificate Transparency Monitoring from SSLMate - SSLMate Blog, sslmate.com: https://sslmate.com/blog/post/introducing_certspotter
- Introducing the New Cert Spotter - with Expiration Monitoring, Alert Fatigue Reduction, and More - SSLMate Blog, sslmate.com: https://sslmate.com/blog/post/introducing_new_certspotter
- Introducing SSLMate for SaaS - Get Certificates For Your Customers' Vanity Domains - SSLMate Blog, sslmate.com: https://sslmate.com/blog/post/introducing_sslmate_for_saas
- DNS Helper - Helps your customers set up DNS records, dnshelper.com: https://www.dnshelper.com
- Alum Adventures: Andrew Ayer Keeps Certificate Authorities Honest With Certificate Transparency, blog.cs.brown.edu: https://blog.cs.brown.edu/2017/12/19/alum-adventures-andrew-ayer-keeps-certificate-authorities-honest-certificate-transparency/
- Certificate Transparency snags Symantec CA for improper certs | TechTarget, techtarget.com: https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/news/450411573/Certificate-Transparency-snags-Symantec-CA-for-improper-certs
- Already on probation, Symantec issues more illegit HTTPS certificates - Ars Technica, arstechnica.com: https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/01/already-on-probation-symantec-issues-more-illegit-https-certificates/
- SSLMate - Acquire and Monitor SSL Certificates, sslmate.com: https://sslmate.com
- Cert Spotter - Certificate Transparency Monitor - Detect Security and Availability Problems, sslmate.com: https://sslmate.com/certspotter/
- news.ycombinator.com: https://hacker-news.firebaseio.com/v0/item/31194966.json
- news.ycombinator.com: https://hacker-news.firebaseio.com/v0/item/12181250.json
- news.ycombinator.com: https://hacker-news.firebaseio.com/v0/item/8729717.json
- news.ycombinator.com: https://hacker-news.firebaseio.com/v0/item/15141334.json
- Certificate Transparency Search API by SSLMate, sslmate.com: https://sslmate.com/ct_search_api/
- CAA Record Generator, sslmate.com: https://sslmate.com/caa/
- What's My Chain Cert?, whatsmychaincert.com: https://whatsmychaincert.com
- Certificate Transparency Policy Analyzer, sslmate.com: https://sslmate.com/labs/ct_policy_analyzer/
- Source Spotter - Supply Chain Security for Go, sourcespotter.com: https://sourcespotter.com
- DCV Inspector, dcv-inspector.com: https://dcv-inspector.com
- CRL Watch, sslmate.com: https://sslmate.com/labs/crl_watch/
- OCSP Watch, sslmate.com: https://sslmate.com/labs/ocsp_watch/
- git-crypt - transparent file encryption in git, agwa.name: https://www.agwa.name/projects/git-crypt/
- I'm Independently Verifying Go's Reproducible Builds, agwa.name: https://www.agwa.name/blog/post/verifying_go_reproducible_builds
- Introducing OCSP Watch to Monitor OCSP Responder Reliability, groups.google.com: https://groups.google.com/a/mozilla.org/g/dev-security-policy/c/Zqeykb98CKs/m/kXFDgwZ5AgAJ
- Site checks on 2026-10-11, MRRMaker: https://mrrmaker.com/how-it-works#checks

Labels: "verified" means confirmed by someone other than the founder; "stated" means the founder said it in public. Method: https://mrrmaker.com/how-it-works