() Charter


NOTE: This charter is accurate as of the 37th IETF Meeting in San Jose. It may now be out-of-date. (Consider this a "snapshot" of the working group from that meeting.) Up-to-date charters for all active working groups can be found elsewhere in this Web server.

Chair(s)

Security Area Director(s):

Mailing List Information

Description of Working Group

Many Internet protocols and applications which use the Internet employ public-key technology for security purposes and require a public-key infrastructure (PKI) to securely manage public keys for widely-distributed users or systems. The X.509 standard constitutes a widely-accepted basis for such an infrastructure, defining data formats and procedures related to distribution of public keys via certificates digitally signed by certification authorities (CAs). RFC 1422 specified the basis of an X.509-based PKI, targeted primarily at satisfying the needs of Internet Privacy Enhanced Mail (PEM). Since RFC 1422 was issued, application requirements for an Internet PKI have broadened tremendously, and the capabilities of X.509 have advanced with the development of standards defining the X.509 version 3 certificate and version 2 certificate revocation list (CRL).

The task of the working group will be to develop Internet standards needed to support an X.509-based PKI. The goal of this PKI will be to facilitate the use of X.509 certificates in multiple applications which make use of the Internet and to promote interoperability between different implementations choosing to make use of X.509 certificates. The resulting PKI is intended to provide a framework which will support a range of trust/hierarchy environments and a range of usage environments (RFC1422 is an example of one such model).

Candidate applications to be served by this PKI include, but are not limited to, PEM, MOSS, GSS-API mechanisms (e.g., SPKM), ipsec protocols, Internet payment protocols, and www protocols. This project will not preclude use of non-infrastructural public-key distribution techniques nor of non-X.509 PKIs by such applications. Efforts will be made to coordinate with the IETF White Pages (X.500/WHOIS++) project.

The group will focus on tailoring and profiling the features available in the v3 X.509 certificate to best match the requirements and characteristics of the Internet environment. Other topics to be addressed potentially include:

o Alternatives for CA-to-CA certification links and structures, including guidelines for constraints

o Revocation alternatives, including profiling of X.509 v2 CRL extensions

o Certificate and CRL distribution options (X.500-based, non-X.500-based)

o Guidelines for policy definition and registration

o Administrative protocols and procedures, including certificate generation, revocation notification, cross-certification, and key-pair updating

o Naming and name forms (how entities are identified, e.g., email address, URN, DN, misc.)

o Generation of client key pairs by the PKI

Goals and Milestones

Oct 95
Agree on working group charter.
Nov 95
Complete initial strawman PKI specification.
Dec 95
First meeting at Dallas IETF.
Jul 96
Submit PKI (X.509) specification to IESG for consideration as a Proposed Standard.

Current Internet-Drafts

No Request for Comments