Re: [Smart] Draft Charter For SMART Proposed RG

[Stephen Farrell <[e-mail]>]

Hiya,

I think there's work here that could be interesting, so
I'd be supportive of what I hope this RG might be about,
but I'm not quite sure...

I would be re-assured if the charter was explicit that
the putative RG is not trying to break or weaken the
security aspects of IETF protocols. I believe that that
is the case - after all the overwhelming majority of
people using the Internet, including those defending
the security of systems, really need those security
features - but given the history, the "in a world of
encrypted data" is the kind of phrase that could raise
hackles, and hackles are better not raised.

I don't much care what words would be used, so long as
it's clear that the putative RG is not setting out to
e.g. upend the IETF's BCPs on these topics.

There are real tensions and challenges created by encrypting
more and better, and in reducing uses of identifiers to be
more privacy-friendly, but IMO successfully investigating
those issues requires being explicit that one is not aiming
to weaken things like e2e security as a feature of Internet
protocols.

Cheers,
S.