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| -rw-r--r-- | doc/conferences/seminar/abstract | 17 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/conferences/seminar/outline | 43 |
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diff --git a/doc/conferences/seminar/abstract b/doc/conferences/seminar/abstract new file mode 100644 index 0000000..83fddfc --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/conferences/seminar/abstract @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +Monkeysphere provides a robust, decentralized, out-of-band Public Key +Infrastructure (PKI) based on OpenPGP's Web of Trust. It is intended +to support any protocol which needs public-key authentication or +binding between public keys and real-world entities. Current +implementations include mutual authentication (both server and client) +for SSH and authentication of servers for HTTPS. The technique is +resistant to X.509's inherent single-issuer policy bias, allows use of +a single key for a host offering multiple services, and handles +initial contact, re-keying, and revocation better than OpenSSH's +traditional key continuity management (KCM) scheme. It also requires +no changes to on-the-wire protocols, and is transparently +interoperable with existing tools, so the migration path to the new +PKI is smooth (and encouraged). Discussion will include the merits +and drawbacks of the Monkeysphere, as well as its relationship to +in-band measures (such as the Server Name Indication (SNI) TLS +extension and the subjectAltName (sAN) extended attribute for X.509v3 +certificates) which provide some pieces of similar functionality. diff --git a/doc/conferences/seminar/outline b/doc/conferences/seminar/outline new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1531353 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/conferences/seminar/outline @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +outline for 1 hr seminar talk to CS/security academics + + - key-based authentication is here to stay. (e.g. https, ssh). + - host vs. user + + - raises key management/distribution issues + + - what PKIs are available? X.509, OpenPGP, SPKI + + - social vulnerabilities - single-signer vs. multi-signer + + - protocol vulnerabilities - single cert vs. multi-cert (server + vs. client again) + + - utility for group-internal work, phased approach to public + + + +Stream-based communications over the public network have an +authentication problem. Most data streams are not authenticated in +either direction, and most of those that are authenticated in at least +one direction use authentication regimes which suffer from a range of +known structural problems. + +Public-key-based authentication offers security advantages over +shared-secret approaches, but it introduces additional questions of +key distribution, binding, and revocation. Two common solutions to +these problems on today's network are X.509 certificates (used by TLS +connections like HTTPS) and so-called "key continuity management" +(KCM) (used by popular SSH implementations and the "security +exceptions" interface for some web browsers). Both of these schemes +present security concerns of their own: KCM has trouble with initial +contact, key revocation, and re-keying; and X.509's single-issuer +certificate format has a systemic bias that selects for unaccountable +third-party authorities. New work ("the Monkeysphere") extends the +OpenPGP Web of Trust into authenticating stream-based communications +(instead of its traditional message-based environment of e-mails and +files) by means of a protocol-independent overlay. As a simple, +alternative PKI, the Monkeysphere resolves these failings, and also +provides features currently only available as protocol extensions +(such as SNI). + + |