Securely Available Credentials (sacred)

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NOTE: This charter is a snapshot of the 54th IETF Meeting in Yokohama, Japan. It may now be out-of-date.

Last Modifield: 03/26/2002

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Description of Working Group:

Application specific stores also mean that users cannot easily use the same credential in multiple applications or on multiple devices. In effect, today, credentials aren't portable. PKIs that use hardware tokens (e.g., smart cards, PCMCIA cards) do allow for portability of the user's credentials, however, most systems do not use hardware tokens, but would benefit if similar portability features were available. Ideally, users would be able to use a common set of credentials with their desktop and laptop PCs, PDAs, cell phones, and other Internet-ready devices. Even where hardware tokens are used, there may also be substantial benefit derived from using credential portability protocols in support of management functions such as, for example, installation, token recovery (e.g. locked PIN), or token replacement.

There are at least two possible solutions for providing credential portability. The first involves the use of a "credential server". Credentials are uploaded to the server by one device (e.g., a desktop computer); they can be stored there and downloaded when needed by the same or a different device (e.g., a mobile phone, PDA, or laptop computer).

A second solution involves the "direct" transfer of credentials from one device to another (e.g., from a mobile phone to a PDA). Although there may be servers involved in the transfer, in security terms the transfer is direct - that is, there is no "credential server" that takes an active part in securing the exchanges.

While it might be possible that a single protocol can be developed for both types of solution, two different protocols may be needed: one for interacting with a "credential server"; and the other to facilitate the "direct" transfer of credentials.

Security is at a premium for this working group; only authorized clients should be allowed to download credentials; credentials must be protected against eavesdropping and active attacks; attackers must not be able to successfully replace an entity's credentials at a credential server; etc. In general, the security provided by such systems will be less than is provided in systems using hardware tokens, as the hardware tokens tend to be more resistant to improper inspection and modification. However, in many environments, the security offered will be sufficient.

Availability is also at a premium. Credentials must be available to many different types of client with different characteristics in terms of processing power, storage and network connectivity.

The working group will produce:

1) An informational document(s) describing and identifying the detailed requirements for any protocol in this area, along with an architectural view of any such protocol.

2) A standards-track document(s) describing the details of the adopted or developed protocol.

The WG will specifically take into account the requirements of the IPSRA WG, and the protocols selected by this WG should provide a solution for a subset of those requirements.

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