>>>>> On Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:14:38 -0700, Paul Hoffman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
said:

Again, I completely agree with the goal of trying to remove some of the
key-rollover requirements because of key-length and usage issues that
are likely bogus.  However, I think your proposed edits fail to take
into account other issues.

PH> If this is a trust anchor, everyone relying on the trust anchor
PH> needs to roll over to the new key, which is a very big deal.

[... and later ...]

PH> Here's the biggie. Separate all of section 4 into two distinct
PH> sections: zones publishing trust anchors, and zones publishing DS
PH> records to a parent. Make each heading clear which one is being
PH> discussed.

Life and documentation may have been a lot easier if the technical
specifications said "If a parent zone has a properly signed DS record
for a zone, the DNSKEY for that zone MUST NOT be used as a trust
anchor".  But it doesn't.  Any key may be used as a trust anchor and
it's impossible for a zone operator to tell whether their DNSKEY's in
their zone are used for trust anchors or not.  There are plenty of
previously discussed reasons for using a list of trust anchors that
include zones with a parent-child DS in place.  I won't get into the
politics or even state which side I'm on.  That's not the point; the
point is that the reality of the situation is that you can't ensure your
key isn't being used as a trust anchor.  Thus, if you care about people
using your data, all keys must be rolled as if they're trust anchors.
PH> An attack can only be used if the compromise is unnoticed and the
PH> attacker can act as an MITM in an unnoticed way.

Please don't use MITM terminology when it comes to DNS...  DNS is much
more vulnerable to man-not-quite-in-the-middle attacks than other
protocols due to poisoning attacks and spoofing issues.  (I don't think
you put MITM wording in your proposal text anywhere, however, and are
only using it in your arguments).

PH> If .com is compromised and the attacker forges answers for
PH> somebank.com and sends them out as an MITM, when the attack is
PH> discovered it will be simple to prove that .com has been compromised
PH> and the KSK will be rolled.

I doubt it will be simple to prove.  Proof requires records, which are
usually the first thing an attacker attempts to delete when compromising
something (robust systems will protect against this issue of course).
Either way, proving to an external entity that a key was compromised vs
an intentional malicious action by the key owner is rarely possible.

PH> Defining a long-term successful attack is difficult for keys at any
PH> level.

I suspect that a long term targeted attack on MX records for email
sniffing purposes isn't as hard to pull off as you'd think.  The type of
attack makes all the difference in the world as far as how easy it is to
detect.


-- 
"In the bathtub of history the truth is harder to hold than the soap,
 and much more difficult to find."  -- Terry Pratchett
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