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by tialaramex 2310 days ago
Attackers had effective control over the DigiNotar CA before it was distrusted and eventually went bankrupt in, I think, 2011. They may not have been able to extract the keys from the HSM (this would probably require physical access) but they had the ability to cause issuance without accurate records kept so there's not a lot of practical difference.

Incidents at WoSign/ StartCom presumably involved malfeasance by key staff. I guess that doesn't count as a breach unless you'd call it a "Bank raid" if the manager just empties the vault into his own car and flees.

At Symantec they knew third parties had the independent ability to issue with any of their CAs but that was specifically contracted third parties (in particular a Korean firm named CrossCert) not just random people, it's just that issuance records weren't properly kept and oversight was inadequate. Again the ability to cause issuance isn't technically a breach, the keys stayed inside the HSM but it was possible to cause unrecorded issuance so there's not much moral difference.