ietf-openpgp
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Re: Principles and Principals

1997-09-24 23:09:07
Ian Brown wrote :
The PGP public-key is the principal.

...

I think this is a great way to look at it. Using the public key, its
hash or fingerprint as *the* DN allows all sorts of important
functionality like authorisations.

The major problem with 'key-principal' architectures is the
revocation problem.

When my key is revoked/changed/upgraded/whathaveyou all bindings
are lost.

If you develop a system that goes around this, then the key is
not the principal...

Just my $0.02

-Pat
---
patr(_at_)xcert(_dot_)com
Public Key available via LDAP
http://www.xcert.com

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