Learn about secure authentication in Kubernetes environments through this conference talk that explores alternatives to traditional secret management. Discover how short-lived certificates can replace conventional secrets, reducing the risk of leaks in complex configurations. Explore how cert-manager can provision certificates to applications without sharing sensitive information, and understand the comparison between static secrets versus short-lived secrets and proof of ownership methods. Delve into practical implementation details for issuing certificates using cert-manager without secrets, while addressing compatibility challenges and considerations for modern Kubernetes deployments.