Re: [MMUSIC] Where to apply encryption?

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mmusic-bounces@ietf.org [mailto:mmusic-bounces@ietf.org] On Behalf
> Of Dale R. Worley
> Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2013 1:58 PM
> To: mmusic@ietf.org
> Subject: [MMUSIC] Where to apply encryption?
> 
> Current bundling proposals seem to expect that the packets on the wire
> will be either SRTP/SRTCP or SCTP-within-DTLS.  Of course, this provides
> encryption of the carried media.
> 
> But it seems to me that it would be more straightforward to multiplex
> RTP/RTCP and SCTP packets, and than as a lower layer, have one DTLS
> association that encrypts all of those packets indifferently.  It would
> also provide privacy regarding the number and types of the bundled media
> streams.

SRTP (RFC3711) was carefully and purposefully designed so the RTP header 
remains in the clear, and DTLS-SRTP was also purposefully designed so
after the DTLS-SRTP handshake establishes the SRTP keys, the SRTP packets
flow over the wire exactly like they would for any other keying 
mechanism (ZRTP, MIKEY-*, Security Descriptions).

By sending SRTP packets with their RTP header in the clear, it allows:
  * the RTP header to be compressed (cRTP [RFC2508], ECRTP [RFC3545])
  * analysis devices to see where, on a network path, SRTP packets 
    are lost, delayed, or get mis-ordered.
  * analysis devices to see SRTCP receiver reports and sender reports,
    which are typically authenticated but in the clear.

> But my knowledge of crypto is thin, and maybe there's a reason that
> using one DTLS association to encrypt the multiplexed packet stream
> wouldn't work as well.

-d

> Dale
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