diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 026134d26a..32c777c697 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -45,3 +45,5 @@ image-metadata-*.json
 *results*.json
 netperf-*.json
 netperf-*.csv
+
+.certs/
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 50d3d19cae..14db13ab96 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -549,6 +549,9 @@ get-certs:
 	hubble config set tls true
 	hubble config set tls-server-name instance.hubble-relay.cilium.io
 
+# Replaces every '.' in $(1) with '\.'
+escape_dot = $(subst .,\.,$(1))
+
 .PHONY: clean-certs
 clean-certs:
 	rm -rf $(CERT_DIR)