--- Begin Message ---> When a user receives a certificate from another user, .... > The user receiving the certificate chooses whether or not to > set the flag. In RIPEM, a communicant's key is trusted by the user creating a certificate for it. How is this trust flag authenticated in TIS/PEM ? In TIS/PEM, a communicant's key is trusted by the user setting the flag for the certificate containing it. A communicant's key is always trusted by its issuer, otherwise the issuer wouldn't be creating the certificate. Now, it isn't that far a stretch to suggest that a user setting the designated valid flag for a certificate is "issuing" it and, as such, the user is responsible for determining that the information in a certificate is valid before setting the flag, just as an issuer must do before creating a certificate. How this is done is a local implementation issue, in the general case. The PEM hierarchy, as specified in RFC 1422, helps in this regard since it specifies a hierarchy with issuing policies and name subordination requirements. However, it's not the only way to "play the game." Jim
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binJep92ippi7.bin
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