Re: [openpgp] Can the OpenPGP vs. S/MIME situation be fixed?

[Derek Atkins <[e-mail]>]

Hi Hanno,

Hanno Böck <[e-mail]> writes:

[snip]
> So the question is: Instead of making RFC4880bis a "new OpenPGP
> standard", could it instead be a successor of both OpenPGP and S/MIME?
> Maybe it needs a new name, maybe not. There seems to be an smime working
> group and there is still some activity, although the last RFC was
> published in 2009. Things would obivously have to be coordinated so
> that there is wide acceptance of the new standard.

Unfortunately from a process standpoint that is not an option.  That's
not to say that we cannot write such a draft/document, but it cannot be
"4880bis".

> Technically it would probably mean to create a compatibility layer to
> be able to use both X.509 certificates and PGP keys to encrypt. But
> that shouldn't be too hard, as the keys itself are just numbers, the
> major difference is just the storage format.
>
> Maybe this is a crazy idea, but maybe this could also be a chance to
> fix one of the biggest mistakes in email encryption.

-derek
-- 
       Derek Atkins                 617-623-3745
       [e-mail]             www.ihtfp.com
       Computer and Internet Security Consultant