Open AccessTrusted Directory Services for Secure Internet Connectivity
Author(s) -
J.F. Zandbelt,
R. J. Hulsebosch,
Mortaza S. Bargh,
Roy Arends
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
electronic notes in theoretical computer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.242
H-Index - 60
ISSN - 1571-0661
DOI - 10.1016/j.entcs.2007.12.019
Subject(s) - computer science , computer security , the internet , directory , public key cryptography , domain name system , security association , directory service , key (lock) , public key infrastructure , lightweight directory access protocol , transport layer security , computer network , internet privacy , world wide web , encryption , cloud computing security , operating system , network access control , cloud computing
The Internet today is a highly dynamic environment which frequently requires secure communication between peers that do not have a direct trust relationship. Current solutions for establishing trust often require static and application-specific Public Key Infrastructures (PKIs). This paper presents trusted directory services as a key infrastructural technology for setting up secure Internet connections, providing an alternative to application-specific PKIs. The directory securely binds public keys to peers through their names in a flexible way that matches the dynamic nature of the Internet. We elaborate on this concept by showing how the Domain Name System (DNS) and its security extensions (DNSSEC) can be leveraged for establishing secure Transport Layer Security (TLS) connections in a dynamic way. A simple enhancement of the TLS protocol, called Extended TLS (E-TLS), required for this purpose, is proposed. We describe our E-TLS implementation and we conclude with an evaluation of our results
Accelerating Research
Robert Robinson Avenue,
Oxford Science Park, Oxford
OX4 4GP, United Kingdom
Address
John Eccles HouseRobert Robinson Avenue,
Oxford Science Park, Oxford
OX4 4GP, United Kingdom