Based on conversations with Kathleen, I have simplified the changes made to
address these issues.
See
https://github.com/BenWilson-Mozilla/pkipolicy/commit/7b0cb570fdf5b423b1b267fd01bc2bbb5aced7a9



On Thu, Jan 27, 2022 at 11:22 AM Ben Wilson <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi Ryan,
> I have attempted to incorporate your comments and suggestions into a new
> draft -
> https://github.com/BenWilson-Mozilla/pkipolicy/commit/7c7712467121c92ce25c6211fc19d52a895fc743,
> although I moved some suggestions into different sections.
>
> I inserted the following into 2.4:
>
> “Any matter discovered during the course of an audit giving rise to a
> qualification, a modified opinion, or a non-conformity, is also considered
> an incident and MUST be reported to Mozilla as soon as the CA operator is
> made aware. In some cases, there may be disagreement between the CA
> operator and the auditor on the nature or severity of the situation.
> However, CA operators MUST report these as incidents to Mozilla. In these
> circumstances, reported incidents may be resolved as INVALID, if Mozilla
> determines that there has been no non-compliance or that they are not a
> matter of concern.”
>
> I deleted the section heading for 2.5 (Sanctions) and added to 2.4:
>
> " Mozilla expects the timely remediation of the problems that caused or
> gave rise to the incident. In response to incidents, Mozilla MAY require
> the CA operator to submit a plan of action with milestones or to submit one
> or more additional audits to provide sufficient assurance that the incident
> has been remediated. Such audits will be expected sooner than the CA
> operator’s next scheduled audit, and thus may be expected to be for a
> period less than a year."
>
> Added to 3.2 (Auditors): "Mozilla MAY, at its sole discretion, determine
> that an audit provided does not provide sufficient assurance that the
> requirements within this section 3 have been sufficiently met. In such
> circumstances, CA operators will be expected to obtain a new audit, at the
> CA operator's expense, for the period of time in question. Additionally,
> depending on the nature of concerns with the audit, Mozilla MAY require
> that the CA operator obtain such an audit from a new auditor."
>
> Then, in section 7.3, I added: "Mozilla MAY remove or disable a
> certificate if the CA operator has reoccurring incidents with the same
> underlying cause or failed to remediate the causes giving rise to incidents.
> "
>
> Ben
>
> On Wed, Jan 26, 2022 at 5:19 PM Ryan Sleevi <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I'm not sure this moves us any closer to addressing
>> https://github.com/mozilla/pkipolicy/issues/155 , but again, I could be
>> misunderstanding the goals here.
>>
>> This language doesn't seem to quite address the situation raised in
>> https://github.com/mozilla/pkipolicy/issues/155#issue-359674220
>>
>> I tried to capture in my previous reply what I understood the goals to
>> be, but I may not have done it clearly, so here's me trying to show my
>> work. My understanding is the goals are:
>>
>> 1. Make it clear what CAs are supposed to do if they are informed
>> of qualifications or findings, as WebTrust does.
>> 2. Make it clear what CAs are supposed to do if they are informed of
>> non-conformities (major or minor), as ETSI does.
>>
>> For both of these (which are just two ways of saying the same thing), the
>> expectation is that the CA will file an incident report. As called out in
>> https://wiki.mozilla.org/CA/Responding_To_An_Incident , Mozilla already
>> expects a plan of milestones for remediation, so this is an existing MUST
>> level requirement.
>>
>> Further, in these situations, the proposal was to enumerate some of the
>> additional steps that may be taken, as have been taken in the past, to make
>> sure the expectations are clear.
>>
>> 3. In some situations, Mozilla may require that the CA provide period of
>> time audits sooner than may otherwise be expected, which include confirming
>> that the finding, qualification, or non-conformity has been addressed.
>> 4. In some situations, Mozilla may further require regular audits on an
>> increased frequency, to ensure no further non-conformities are introduced,
>> such as during post-remediation actions.
>>
>> That's what I understood the original proposal to be, which all seems to
>> make sense. I agree with you that
>> https://github.com/mozilla/pkipolicy/issues/150 is basically
>> encapsulated within the existing 155 issue.
>>
>> https://github.com/mozilla/pkipolicy/issues/146 is a different issue
>> than a question of qualifications/findings, and is about a rejection of an
>> audit. For example, an audit report may have no findings or qualifications,
>> despite there having been incidents, and Mozilla decides it cannot rely
>> upon the audit on the basis of these facts. That's about clarifying that:
>>
>> 5. Mozilla may, on receipt of an audit report, determine it to be
>> insufficient for the purposes of the Mozilla Root Program. In such
>> circumstances, the CA may be required, at their own expense, to obtain a
>> new audit to cover the same period in time.
>> 6. Further, Mozilla may, at its sole discretion, require that a different
>> auditor be used in order to provide sufficient assurance for the Mozilla
>> user community.
>>
>> This is basically saying that an audit is simply a report printed on a
>> piece of paper, it is not imbued with special properties, and while
>> ideally, everything works, auditors, like CAs, can make mistakes that
>> undermine trust and confidence in the report. In these circumstances, it is
>> the CA's responsibility to remediate that for continued participation.
>>
>> However, I'm not sure where
>> https://github.com/mozilla/pkipolicy/issues/155#issuecomment-1009460324
>> is coming into play, given these scenarios.
>>
>> It mostly seems to be a combination of:
>> A) Things the BRs already require (bullet 1, bullet 2)
>> B) Things already covered by existing expectations (bullet 4, 6)
>> C) Things already mentioned in policy (bullet 3, 9, 10 = Section 7.3)
>>
>> That said, D introduces new things (bullet 5 and bullet 8, PIT and POT,
>> even though 155 originally discouraged PIT)
>>
>> When we get to the wording below, we've got a somewhat ambiguous and
>> watered bullet 4 in the first 1.5 sentences, then bullets 5/8 without
>> detail, and then the items from C. What this misses, though, is the
>> original goal of making it clear "We expect an incident report (and as soon
>> as you know - i.e. don't wait until the public report if you already know
>> about an issue)", and then also making it clear that, for some incidents,
>> additional audits may be required (#3 and #4), ideally with details, and
>> ideally, only POT.
>>
>> We're still missing language for #5/#6, which tie back to #3/#4 - namely,
>> that there are circumstances that Mozilla may require additional audits,
>> and potentially at increased frequency.
>>
>> It's not that I see harm in referencing Section 7.3, but it seems
>> unnecessary, because that part is unambiguous in 7.3. What isn't as clear,
>> even though it's very much a past event, is #3, #4, #5, and #6 are possible
>> outcomes, and that #1 and #2 are expected.
>>
>> Tying this all together now:
>>
>> To Section 2.4, the proposed new language becomes:
>> - Any matters discovered during the course of an audit, such as a
>> qualification, a modified opinion, or a non-conformity, are considered
>> incidents, and should be reported as soon as the CA is made aware. In some
>> cases, there may be disagreement between the CA and the auditor on the
>> nature or severity of the situation. CAs MUST (should?) also report these
>> as incidents to Mozilla. In these circumstances, they may be resolved as
>> INVALID if Mozilla determines this to be compliant or not a matter of
>> concern.
>>
>> The edits to 2.5 are less clear, because broadly, #3, #4, #5, #6 (in my
>> list above) are all tied to audits. Perhaps a new 3.3, making the current
>> 3.3 a 3.4, and
>>
>> """
>> ### 3.3 Additional Audits ###
>>
>> In response to incidents (see Section 2.4), Mozilla MAY require the CA
>> operator to submit one or more additional audits to provide sufficient
>> assurance that the incident has been remediated. Such audits will be
>> expected sooner than the CAs next scheduled audit, and thus may be expected
>> to be for a period less than a year.
>>
>> Mozilla MAY, at its sole discretion, determine that an audit provided
>> does not provide sufficient assurance that the requirements within this
>> section have been sufficiently met. In such circumstances, CAs will be
>> expected to obtain a new audit, at the CA's expense, for the period of time
>> in question. Additionally, depending on the nature of concerns with the
>> audit, Mozilla MAY require the CA obtain such an audit from a new auditor.
>> """
>>
>> This seems to capture the original issues, and I think, when combined
>> with Section 7.3, covers all the scenarios discussed above? Basically, I
>> think the shift needs to be from thinking about "Sanctions for incidents"
>> (which 7.3 mostly covers), and instead being clear that "Sometimes,
>> additional audits are needed". I grouped these two cases (audits for
>> remediation and audits because crappy auditors) into 3.3, because it made
>> most sense to me, but I can also understand an argument for splitting it
>> out into a 2.5 & 3.3. It just felt a little weird to get too detailed about
>> audits in 2.5 before Section 3 had been introduced, which is why I propose
>> a 3.3
>>
>> On Wed, Jan 26, 2022 at 5:58 PM Ben Wilson <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> Here is another re-phrasing,
>>>
>>> "Mozilla expects the timely remediation of the problems that caused or
>>> gave rise to the incident. Mozilla MAY require the CA operator to submit a
>>> plan of action with milestones or additional audits to ensure remediation
>>> and to regain confidence in the CA operator. Reoccurring incidents with the
>>> same underlying cause, or failure to remediate the causes giving rise to
>>> incidents, will lead to sanctions. Mozilla MAY impose sanctions, including
>>> but not limited to the full or partial disablement of certificates as set
>>> forth in section 7.3 by adding certificates to OneCRL, removing trust bits
>>> from root certificates, or removing root certificates from the trust
>>> store."
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jan 26, 2022 at 12:37 PM Ryan Sleevi <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Jan 26, 2022 at 1:26 PM Ben Wilson <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> As my comment on the issue at the time tried to capture, the scenario
>>>>>> on the bug was about the expectations for CAs when they receive qualified
>>>>>> audits, and how that may be treated.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I believed that in response to this, we need to make clearer that
>>>>> qualifications in audits are "incidents," which need to be tracked in
>>>>> Bugzilla through to remediation. I think that many CAs have understood 
>>>>> that
>>>>> this has already been the practice for several years, as evidenced by the
>>>>> incidents filed by CAs in Bugzilla, but again, we needed to make sure that
>>>>> it was stated in policy.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Yup, I think this is a great clarification to make, namely:
>>>>
>>>> Whenever a CA becomes aware that they have failed to meet requirements,
>>>> such as via an external report from end-users, an internal discovery, or
>>>> feedback during an audit or consultation, the CA should file a CA incident
>>>> report to disclose that to the community. Additionally, CAs should consider
>>>> raising issues that are flagged by auditors, but which may ultimately be
>>>> determined not to be issues, both to provide an opportunity to ensure no
>>>> misunderstandings, and to provide this as feedback and datapoints for how
>>>> requirements can be clarified or improved in the future. These can be filed
>>>> as Incident Reports, which can always be closed as Resolved/Invalid if the
>>>> conclusion is supported, or raised on m.d.s.p. as items for discussion.
>>>>
>>>> I think DigiCert has been great about that last point, and I think a
>>>> few other CAs have as well. I do know some CAs raise questions through
>>>> their auditors to the [email protected] list, which offers yet
>>>> another venue. While I think (incident or m.d.s.p.) is best, it seems like
>>>> these would all be valuable clarifications, especially since the goal is
>>>> "better, together"
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Is there any circumstance where any of the MAYs not already MUSTs in
>>>>>> the BRs wouldn’t be appropriate? Is it necessary to even enumerate the
>>>>>> actions Mozilla may take, for those that are optional, versus addressing
>>>>>> them as they arise (e.g. in incident reports)?
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm inviting comments and suggestions on improving the language.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Gotcha. I think that the following part:
>>>> Mozilla MAY require revocation of those leaf certificates or
>>>> intermediate certificates that suffered or that are considered defective
>>>> because of the incident. Mozilla expects the timely remediation of the
>>>> problems that caused or gave rise to the incident. Mozilla MAY require the
>>>> CA operator to submit a plan of action with milestones or additional audits
>>>> to ensure remediation and to regain confidence in the CA operator.
>>>>
>>>> Could potentially be reworded as:
>>>>
>>>> Mozilla expects the timely remediation of the problems that caused or
>>>> gave rise to the incident, such as defined by the Baseline Requirements.
>>>> Mozilla expects the CA operator to submit a plan of action with milestones
>>>> and MAY require additional audits to ensure remediation and to regain
>>>> confidence in the CA operator.
>>>>
>>>> Basically, this shifts the revocation expectation out - because that's
>>>> covered by the BRs or (eventually) the S/MIME BRs, makes it clear that the
>>>> expectation of actionable timeline (which is part of the incident report
>>>> template) isn't conditional, but that there MAY be additional requirements
>>>> beyond the resolutions set forth by the BRs. Then you can keep the rest of
>>>> the proposed paragraph, which defines steps that Mozilla may take
>>>> above-and-beyond the BRs.
>>>>
>>>> WDYT?
>>>>
>>>

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