The more I read, the more bewildered I am by the state of the PKI. The trust model's unwieldy system[1] of protocols, dependencies, and outright assumptions begs to be exploited. Add to that the browser behavior for a self-signed certificate (RED ALERT! THE SKY IS FALLING!) compared to a "trusted" site and we're in bizarro world. I'd rather we close the gap and appreciate a secure transaction with an unauthenticated party than proclaim all is lost when a self-signed key is presented. I see no reason to trust VeriSign or Comodo any more than Reddit. Assuming trust in a top heavy system of Certificate Authorities, Subordinate Certificate Authorities[2], Registration Authorities, and Validation Authorities[3] in a post bulk data collection partnership world is a non-starter. The keys are compromised.
With that, I ask for a history lesson to more fully understand the PKI's genesis and how we got here. Maybe a tottering complex recursive heirarchical system of trust is a really great idea and I just need to be led to the light. [1]http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-15/SP800-15.PDF, http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-32/sp800-32.pdf [2]https://www.eff.org/files/DefconSSLiverse.pdf, https://www.eff.org/files/ccc2010.pdf [3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_infrastructure _______________________________________________ cryptography mailing list [email protected] http://lists.randombit.net/mailman/listinfo/cryptography
