With the username and password in hand, said ComodoHacker, he was able to generate the nine certificates, "all in about 10-15 minutes." His message was signed "Janam Fadaye Rahbar," which reportedly means "I will sacrifice my soul for my leader."

The InstantSLL.it Web site is currently offline.

Robert Graham, the CEO of Errata Security, believes ComodoHacker is telling a straight story.

"As a pentester who does attacks similar to what the ComodoHacker did, I find it credible," Graham said Sunday on the . "I find it probable that (1) this is the guy, (2) he acted alone, (3) he is Iranian, (4) he's patriotic but not political."

But Mikko Hypponen, the chief research officer of Helsinki-based F-Secure, sounded skeptical.