Re: PKIs and trust

[Stephen Kent]

Keith,

I've authored several papers that capture what I see as the essence 
of your characterizations, in a simple form. The central notion is 
that most of these relationships are NOT about trust, but rather 
about authority. if one views them in this fashion, then  it becomes 
apparent that the entities that are authoritative for identification 
and authorization assertions should be CAs, and we, as individuals 
with many distinct identities, should expect to hold many certs, each 
corresponding to one identity. This is what happens in the physical 
world with most physical credentials: passports, frequent traveller 
cards, etc.

Steve