diff --git a/backend/google_contacts.py b/backend/google_contacts.py
index 43671ae..7dbc129 100644
--- a/backend/google_contacts.py
+++ b/backend/google_contacts.py
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 import httpx
+import ssl
+import certifi
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 from uuid import UUID
 import models
@@ -86,7 +88,8 @@ async def import_contacts_from_google(
     
     imported_count = 0
     
-    async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
+    ssl_ctx = ssl.create_default_context(cafile=certifi.where())
+    async with httpx.AsyncClient(verify=ssl_ctx) as client:
         response = await client.get(url, headers=headers, params=params)
         
         logger.info(f"Google API response status: {response.status_code}")
diff --git a/backend/main.py b/backend/main.py
index f5f3dd4..3fd9d81 100644
--- a/backend/main.py
+++ b/backend/main.py
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ import shutil
 from pathlib import Path
 from dotenv import load_dotenv
 import httpx
+import ssl
+import certifi
 from urllib.parse import urlencode, quote
 from datetime import timezone, timedelta
 
@@ -1077,7 +1079,8 @@ async def google_callback(
         raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail="Google OAuth credentials not configured")
     
     try:
-        async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client_http:
+        ssl_ctx = ssl.create_default_context(cafile=certifi.where())
+        async with httpx.AsyncClient(verify=ssl_ctx) as client_http:
             # Exchange authorization code for access token
             token_url = "https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token"