Subject: WG Action: Formed Secure Shell Maintenance (sshm)
From: The IESG <[email-masked]>
To: "IETF-Announce" <[email-masked]>
Cc: The IESG <[email-masked]>, [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2024 11:23:56 -0700
List-Id: "IETF announcement list. No discussions." <ietf-announce.ietf.org>

A new IETF WG has been formed in the Security Area. For additional
information, please contact the Area Directors or the WG Chairs.

Secure Shell Maintenance (sshm)
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Current status: Proposed WG

Chairs:
  Job Snijders <[email-masked]>
  Stephen Farrell <[email-masked]>

Assigned Area Director:
  Deb Cooley <[email-masked]>

Security Area Directors:
  Paul Wouters <[email-masked]>
  Deb Cooley <[email-masked]>

Mailing list:
  Address: [email-masked]
  To subscribe: https://mailman3.ietf.org/mailman3/lists/ssh.ietf.org/
  Archive: https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/ssh/

Group page: https://datatracker.ietf.org/group/sshm/

Charter: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/charter-ietf-sshm/

The main goal of the working group is to maintain the Secure Shell (SSH)
protocol. SSH provides support for secure remote login, file transfer, and
forwarding UNIX-domain sockets, TCP/IP and X11. It can automatically encrypt,
authenticate, and compress transmitted data.

The SSHM working group facilitates discussion of clarifications,
improvements, and extensions to the SSH protocol.

The initial goals of this working group are:

   * to update the RFCs documenting SSH to reflect what is implemented and
   deployed in practice. In particular, the working group will document the
   OpenSSH certificate structure, the SSH agent protocol, and SFTP, as they
   are currently implemented.

   * to update and maintain the list of cryptographic algorithms used by SSH.
   This includes documenting currently deployed algorithms, deprecating
   unsafe algorithms, selecting new algorithms, and determining the set of
   recommended and mandatory-to-implement algorithms. Updating IANA SSH
   registries and changing their registration policies is in scope.

While the development of formal verification proofs is out of scope, this
working group can respond to emerging proofs, and to security issues found by
formal verification tools. This can be done for example by defining new
extensions to improve the security of SSH.

This working group will strive for strong security, simplicity, and ease of
implementation. In particular, proposals will only be adopted if there is
evidence of significant existing deployment or broad interest in new
implementation and deployment. Protocol documents should not be submitted to
the IESG for publication before they have at least two demonstrably
interoperable implementations.

Out of scope includes:

   * defining new certificate types or trust mechanisms;
   * defining new transports for SSH;
   * designing cryptographic algorithms (but defining how SSH uses
   cryptographic algorithms is in scope).

Milestones:

  Dec 2024 - Issue call for adoption for chacha20-poly1305 draft

  Dec 2024 - Issue call for adoption for sntrup761-x25519 draft

  Jan 2025 - Issue calls for drafts documenting existing and widely used SSH
  protocol features

  Mar 2025 - Issue call for adoption for SSH Agent Protocol draft

  Jul 2025 - Issue call for adoption for rfc9519bis draft