diff --git a/chord_drs/config.py b/chord_drs/config.py
index 9754205..882f975 100644
--- a/chord_drs/config.py
+++ b/chord_drs/config.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import os
+import urllib3
 from pathlib import Path
 
 from dotenv import load_dotenv
@@ -25,7 +26,17 @@ def _get_from_environ_or_fail(var: str) -> str:
     return val
 
 
-TRUTH_VALUES = ("true", "1")
+def str_to_bool(value: str) -> bool:
+    return value.strip().lower() in ("true", "1", "t", "yes")
+
+
+BENTO_DEBUG: bool = str_to_bool(os.environ.get("BENTO_DEBUG", os.environ.get("FLASK_DEBUG", "false")))
+BENTO_VALIDATE_SSL = str_to_bool(os.environ.get("BENTO_VALIDATE_SSL", str(not BENTO_DEBUG)))
+
+if not BENTO_VALIDATE_SSL:
+    # Don't let urllib3 spam us with SSL validation warnings if we're operating with SSL validation off, most likely in
+    # a development/test context where we're using self-signed certificates.
+    urllib3.disable_warnings(urllib3.exceptions.InsecureRequestWarning)
 
 APP_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.absolute()
 
@@ -36,7 +47,7 @@ def _get_from_environ_or_fail(var: str) -> str:
 )
 
 # Authorization variables
-AUTHZ_ENABLED = os.environ.get("AUTHZ_ENABLED", "true").strip().lower() in TRUTH_VALUES
+AUTHZ_ENABLED = str_to_bool(os.environ.get("AUTHZ_ENABLED", "true"))
 AUTHZ_URL: str = _get_from_environ_or_fail("BENTO_AUTHZ_SERVICE_URL").strip().rstrip("/") if AUTHZ_ENABLED else ""
 
 # MinIO-related, check if the credentials have been provided in a file
@@ -65,7 +76,7 @@ class Config:
     SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI = "sqlite:///" + str(Path(os.path.join(BASEDIR, "db.sqlite3")).expanduser().resolve())
     SQLALCHEMY_TRACK_MODIFICATIONS = False
 
-    PROMETHEUS_ENABLED: bool = os.environ.get("PROMETHEUS_ENABLED", "false").strip().lower() in TRUTH_VALUES
+    PROMETHEUS_ENABLED: bool = str_to_bool(os.environ.get("PROMETHEUS_ENABLED", "false"))
 
     SERVICE_ID: str = os.environ.get("SERVICE_ID", ":".join(list(SERVICE_TYPE.values())[:2]))
     SERVICE_DATA_SOURCE: str = DATA_SOURCE_MINIO if MINIO_URL else DATA_SOURCE_LOCAL
@@ -76,8 +87,9 @@ class Config:
     MINIO_USERNAME: str | None = MINIO_USERNAME
     MINIO_PASSWORD: str | None = MINIO_PASSWORD
     MINIO_BUCKET: str | None = os.environ.get("MINIO_BUCKET") if MINIO_URL else None
-    BENTO_DEBUG = os.environ.get("BENTO_DEBUG", os.environ.get("FLASK_DEBUG", "false")).strip().lower() in TRUTH_VALUES
-    BENTO_CONTAINER_LOCAL = os.environ.get("BENTO_CONTAINER_LOCAL", "false").strip().lower() in TRUTH_VALUES
+    BENTO_DEBUG: bool = BENTO_DEBUG
+    BENTO_VALIDATE_SSL: bool = BENTO_VALIDATE_SSL
+    BENTO_CONTAINER_LOCAL: bool = str_to_bool(os.environ.get("BENTO_CONTAINER_LOCAL", "false"))
 
     # Temporary directory to write files to while they're being ingested - useful in containerized contexts, so we can
     # choose to write temporary files to a volume bound to a host directory with sufficient space for ingesting large