[saag] Re: wpkops, "WebPKI" and citations

On November 18, 2025 12:43:51 p.m. EST, Tim Hollebeek <[email protected]> wrote:
>The Web PKI is the trust infrastructure set up an managed by leading
>browsers so that server operators can authenticate to browser clients in an
>interoperable way.
>
>I think a definition similar to that gets to the heart of what's going on and
>should be able to survive future changes and redesigns.
>
>-Tim
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Christian Huitema <[email protected]>
>> Sent: Monday, November 17, 2025 4:11 PM
>> To: [email protected]
>> Subject: [saag] Re: wpkops, "WebPKI" and citations
>> 
>> 
>> On 11/17/2025 12:12 PM, Salz, Rich wrote:
>> > 
>> > * Might not be quite enough, but if that was in some place I could
>> > cite, I'd be
>> > * happy.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > http://www.richsalz.com/ietf/what-is-the-web-pki/
>> > <f70d4e31-eb89-4050-8e17-e7a4b2686c36>
>> 
>> Rich, I don't think that's a good operational definition. If we applied it to "the
>> road infrastructure", it would translate to "The collection of entities — roads,
>> those running cars, and users who often use public transports — that send and
>> retrieve information across the country."
>> That does not sound quite right.
>> 
>> We can certainly isolate pieces of the infrastructure: CAs, browsers that ship with
>> embedded lists of trusted CA, crypto stacks that implement verification logic and
>> may incorporate default lists of CAs.
>> But websites and users, no, not so much, at least not in a general sense. They do
>> use the web PKI infrastructure but they are not it.
>> Websites, for example, are not exactly at liberty to get site certificates signed by
>> arbitrary authority. If they do not chose a CA that is part of "the infrastructure",
>> browsers are going to punish them.
>> Users may perhaps decide to trust sites outside of the infrastructure, but that's
>> like saying that I can decide to not use public transport service and rely on my
>> sailboat instead. it does not make my sailboat part of the road infrastructure...
>> 
>> -- Christian Huitema
>> 
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Good text, definition. What do I cite?
-- 
Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

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