Compliance defects in public-key cryptography
D. D. Davis · 1996
Abstract Public-key cryptography has low infrastructural overhead because public-key users bear a substantial but hidden administrative burden. A public-key security system trusts its users to validate each others ' public keys rigorously and to manage their own private keys securely. Both tasks are hard to do well, but publickey security systems lack a centralized infrastructure for enforcing users ' discipline. A compliance defect in a cryptosystem is such a rule of operation that is both difficult to follow and unenforceable. This paper presents five compliance defects that are inherent in public-key cryptography; these defects make publickey cryptography more suitable for server-to-server security than for desktop applications. 1 Introduction Public-key cryptography is uniquely well-suited to certain parts of a secure global network. It is widely accepted that public-key security systems are easier to administer, more secure, less trustful, and have better geographical reach, than symmetric-key security systems. However, it is not widely appreciated that these advantages rely excessively on end-users ' security discipline. In fact, the reason public-key security doesn't need a trusted key-management infrastructure is that the burden of key-management falls to public-key clients. With public-key cryptography, clients must constantly be careful to validate rigorously every public key they use, and they must husband the secrecy of their long-lived private keys. It turns out that these tasks are harder than they seem.