At the moment I have

* An Internet draft for expressing security policy in the form of DNS
statements.
* A draft of a white paper describing a general solution framework.
* Some proprietary protocols that implement the client-broker interface
* An aspiration to write a notary protocol ID.


I guess the sensible thing to do is probably to focus on getting out
drafts for the security policy origination and the client-broker
interface.


On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 11:05 PM, Stephen Farrell
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Hi Phill,
>
>
> On 02/09/2012 03:40 AM, Phillip Hallam-Baker wrote:
>>
>> I think we have a set of requirements that point to a need for three
>> separable technologies:
>>
>> 1) A means by which a site can express the intended security policy
>> 2) An append only notary service
>> 3) A means by which a client can obtain security policy curated by a
>> fourth party
>>
>> Each of these components can be designed in stovepipe fashion to only
>> serve one set of requirements or they can be conceived in slightly
>> more general form.
>>
>> For example, Convergence, SK and CT all involve some form of append
>> only notary. Such a facility would have far more general applicability
>> than just addressing public keys. It might well be easier to get a
>> broad range of parties establishing and supporting the necessary
>> ecology of notary service providers if they are designed in such a
>> fashion that they can be used for general purposes.
>>
>>
>> So I will make separate protocol proposals in each area, but
>
>
> Great. That's what's needed for progress to be made here. Send
> the I-D URLs here as soon as you can!
>
> More opinions on your categorisation and its utility would also
> be good, (e.g. it clearly doesn't try to address the secure-mail-from-
> all-to-all problem, right?).
>
>
>> I think
>> what we are designing is going to be easier to deploy if we give some
>> thought to re-usability of components and dual use.
>
>
> Well... that assumes that there are folks out there who want to
> re-use stuff. To some extent this space, for now, seems to be
> a bit more solipsistic. Maybe the people proposing to solve all
> problems aren't quite as confident as they claim? (...he said
> deliberately, but honestly, trying to provoke people out of
> silence:-)
>
> S.
>
> PS: I do appreciate your being constructive on this.
>
>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 9:11 PM, Stephen Farrell
>> <[email protected]>  wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> <trying to poke things along a bit more actively hat on>
>>>
>>> So S/MIME works fine in many cases but does not work well
>>> between random people connected to the Internet, unlike email.
>>> That's a pity.
>>>
>>> Its not an easy problem though, XMPP have been trying for a
>>> good while and we don't even seem to have a good solution for
>>> SIP or Diameter which ought be much easier.
>>>
>>> I guess if this discussion lead to a way to manage keys that
>>> could work at the same scale as email that would be a major
>>> advance. I don't expect that myself.
>>>
>>> And of course, whatever the right answer there (if there
>>> is one) is maybe very different from how we might manage keys
>>> for web servers or MTAs or XMPP servers.
>>>
>>> Maybe we ought also think about whether or not the same key
>>> management scheme is right for all those or not as part of
>>> this too and whether we're able to solve all or just some/one
>>> of those problems.
>>>
>>> Put another way: maybe it'd be better to tighten the focus
>>> a teeny bit more on this list. Specific suggestions for topics
>>> welcome. Why not start a new thread with your favourite
>>> problem that's worth solving and maybe solveable. (Being the
>>> IETF, we're not very interested in other things in the end:-)
>>>
>>> S.
>>>
>>> PS: I bet I'm not the only one who can no longer associate
>>> the subject line with the content. Be good to be better at
>>> that since it'll help to try move towards some concrete
>>> outcomes here.
>>>
>>> On 02/09/2012 01:22 AM, Phillip Hallam-Baker wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Alice has three mobile phones and six laptops.
>>>>
>>>> Using embedded keys in those devices for authorization is no problem
>>>> since each device can have a separate private key and the
>>>> authentication server tracks the fact that there are nine devices that
>>>> might authenticate Alice.
>>>>
>>>> The same model can even be made to work for confidentiality. Alice can
>>>> read her DRM protected Kindle content on any one of those devices.
>>>> (Though there may be limits on how many devices the DRM scheme will
>>>> permit).
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Trying to make S/MIME email work in that scenario is futile. The
>>>> sender only tracks one private key for Alice. So Alice has to export
>>>> her private key to all her S/MIME clients. Not only is that terrible
>>>> security practice, it is too much work. Worse, Alice has to repeat the
>>>> process once a year.
>>>>
>>>> That is why I no longer believe that end-to-end is a desirable
>>>> quality. A security requirement that does not consider the cost it
>>>> imposes versus the risks it mitigates is ideology.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 4:52 PM, Stephen Kent<[email protected]>    wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> At 3:03 PM -0500 2/8/12, Phillip Hallam-Baker wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> But authentication works in that scenario because the protocols can
>>>>>> allow
>>>>>> each user to have as many keys as they need. The key is not shared
>>>>>> across
>>>>>> devices, the protocols allow for multiple cards per end user
>>>>>>
>>>>> Sorry, I don't understand you comment.
>>>>>
>>>>> Steve
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> therightkey mailing list
>>> [email protected]
>>> https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/therightkey
>>
>>
>>
>>
>



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Website: http://hallambaker.com/
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