PKI Consortium blog
Posts by author Kirk Hall
You are invited to participate in the PKI Consortium’s first Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) conference
November 30, 2022 by
Paul van Brouwershaven
(Digitorus),
Paul van Brouwershaven
(Entrust)
Kirk Hall
(Entrust)
Conference
Post-Quantum Cryptography
PQC
Speakers at this conference include some of the world’s top Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) experts and come from government science agencies, standards bodies, and private organizations at the forefront of this new challenge to digital security. Topics will cover the status of PQC standardization at NIST, ETSI, and IETF, government preparations, migration strategies, etc.
Why Are You Removing Website Identity, Google and Mozilla?
August 27, 2019 by
Kirk Hall
(Entrust),
Tim Callan
(Sectigo)
CA/Browser Forum
Chrome
DV
Encryption
EV
Firefox
GDPR
Google
Identity
Malware
Mozilla
Phishing
SSL/TLS
You can’t have consumer privacy without having strong website identity Today there’s a huge wave toward protecting consumer privacy – in Congress, with the GDPR, etc. – but how can we protect user privacy on the web without establishing the identity of the websites that are asking for consumer passwords and credit card numbers? Extended Validation (EV) certificates provide this information and can be very useful for consumers.
Recently, Google and Mozilla have announced plan to eliminate the distinctive indicators in the Chrome and Firefox browsers that let consumers know that they are looking at a site authenticated with an EV certificate.
How Browser Security Indicators Can Protect You from Phishing
June 6, 2017 by
Chris Bailey
(Entrust),
Kirk Hall
(Entrust)
Chrome
DV
Encryption
EV
Google
Identity
Phishing
SSL/TLS
The media is full of stories about how phishing sites are moving rapidly to encryption using anonymous, free DV certificates they use to imitate login pages for popular sites, such as paypal.com.
As noted in the article PayPal Phishing Certificates Far More Prevalent than Previously Thought, more than 14,000 DV SSL certificates have been issued to PayPal phishing sites since the start of 2016. Based on a random sample, 96.
Practical Steps to Counter the Logjam Attack
May 26, 2015 by
Kirk Hall
(Entrust)
Apple
Attack
Encryption
Google
MITM
SSL/TLS
Vulnerability
Another flaw has been found in the basic encryption algorithms that secure the Internet. This flaw, named the Logjam attack by its discoverers (researchers from various universities and companies), allows an attacker that can carry out man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks to weaken the encryption used in secure connections (such as HTTPS, SSH, and VPNs). In theory, this means that an attacker (with sufficient resources) can break the encryption and read the “secure” traffic.
Who Sets the Rules Governing Certification Authorities?
August 19, 2014 by
Kirk Hall
(Entrust)
CA/Browser Forum
Code Signing
DV
Encryption
ETSI
EV
Google
Hash Function
Identity
IETF
Microsoft
Mozilla
OCSP
Policy
Revocation
Root Program
SSL/TLS
WebTrust
Every time something positive is published about SSL and encryption,such as Google’s recent decision making use of https encryption a favorable rating factor for a website, or negative, such as the Heartbleed issue – bloggers and others always post questions about public Certification Authorities (CAs), including general questions on who sets the rules that govern CAs. Some bloggers seem to assume there are no rules or standards, and that CAs can operate without any requirements or limitations at all — that’s incorrect.
CA Security Council Members Presentation at RSA 2014 Conference: New Ideas on CAA, CT, and Public Key Pinning for a Safer Internet
March 17, 2014 by
Kirk Hall
(Entrust)
Attack
CAA
CASC
Chrome
EV
Google
IETF
Microsoft
Mis-issued
OCSP
Revocation
RSA
SSL/TLS
Vulnerability
CA Security Council (CASC) members Trend Micro, Go Daddy, and Symantec participated in a discussion panel at the 2014 RSA Conference in San Francisco on February 24 entitled “New Ideas on CAA, CT, and Public Key Pinning for a Safer Internet.” Panel members included Kirk Hall of Trend Micro (Moderator), Wayne Thayer of GoDaddy (Panelist), and Rick Andrews of Symantec (Panelist).
Introduction to the Topic Hall began by introducing the topic – all three alternative technologies (Certificate Transparency or CT, Certificate Authority Authorization or CAA, and Certificate Pinning) are intended to make the internet safer by dealing with mis-issued digital certificates, including so-called “rogue” certs like those obtained by a hacker from the now-defunct Diginotar Certification Authority (CA).
How Organizations Are Authenticated for SSL Certificates
November 22, 2013 by
Kirk Hall
(Entrust)
CA/Browser Forum
CSR
DV
EV
Identity
OV
Phishing
Policy
SSL/TLS
Certification Authorities (CAs) are trusted third parties that authenticate customers before issuing SSL certificates to secure their servers.
Exactly how do CAs authenticate these organizations? And where are the rules that determine what CAs must do during authentication?
The Rules on Customer Authentication In the past, there were no common rules applicable to CAs as to minimum steps required to authenticate a customer before issuing an SSL certificate. Instead, each CA was permitted to create its own authentication processes, and was only required to describe the process in general terms in its public Certification Practice Statement (CPS).
Certificate Authority Audits and Browser Root Program Requirements
October 15, 2013 by
Kirk Hall
(Entrust)
AICPA
CA/Browser Forum
CASC
ETSI
EV
ISO
ITU
Microsoft
Policy
Qualified
Root Program
SSL/TLS
WebTrust
Recent news stories have highlighted the need for strong security in online communications, and use of SSL certificates issued by a publicly trusted Certification Authority (CA) is perhaps the best way to achieve that. But why should the public trust SSL certificates issued from commercial CA roots, which are embedded as trust anchors in web browsers?
One answer is because of the multiple layers of standards and tough requirements that all commercial CAs must meet – and for which they are audited every year.