Re: [TLS] HTTPS client-certificate-authentication in browsers

Peter Gutmann <pgut001@cs.auckland.ac.nz> Wed, 27 July 2011 05:34 UTC

Return-Path: <pgut001@login01.cs.auckland.ac.nz>
X-Original-To: tls@ietfa.amsl.com
Delivered-To: tls@ietfa.amsl.com
Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by ietfa.amsl.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id B18335E801D for <tls@ietfa.amsl.com>; Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:34:22 -0700 (PDT)
X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at amsl.com
X-Spam-Flag: NO
X-Spam-Score: -3.621
X-Spam-Level:
X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.621 tagged_above=-999 required=5 tests=[AWL=-0.022, BAYES_00=-2.599, RCVD_IN_DNSWL_LOW=-1]
Received: from mail.ietf.org ([64.170.98.30]) by localhost (ietfa.amsl.com [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with ESMTP id l1RPhIUr3Iy5 for <tls@ietfa.amsl.com>; Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:34:22 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from mx2-int.auckland.ac.nz (mx2-int.auckland.ac.nz [130.216.12.41]) by ietfa.amsl.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id BC96221F8B99 for <tls@ietf.org>; Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:34:21 -0700 (PDT)
DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=simple/simple; d=auckland.ac.nz; i=pgut001@cs.auckland.ac.nz; q=dns/txt; s=uoa; t=1311744862; x=1343280862; h=from:to:subject:cc:in-reply-to:message-id:date; z=From:=20Peter=20Gutmann=20<pgut001@cs.auckland.ac.nz> |To:=20matt@mattmccutchen.net,=20pgut001@cs.auckland.ac.n z|Subject:=20Re:=20[TLS]=20HTTPS=20client-certificate-aut hentication=20in=20browsers|Cc:=20tls@ietf.org |In-Reply-To:=20<1311740206.7071.87.camel@localhost> |Message-Id:=20<E1Qlwl1-0003tZ-Bf@login01.fos.auckland.ac .nz>|Date:=20Wed,=2027=20Jul=202011=2017:34:11=20+1200; bh=3EsHSgHsP2YxBbhCzkwGjg6kKPRGgVzE/3IsAXOqu0E=; b=K32TJbITGd3sFyZFuc/KawTpLnA8ej9DNwLbP7LrWyB47ullzUqk2gfS iD+pX8FAr9zS6gqGhcP3jg25f5NlfhvnKAOE9SElZrCcQXiEIaRhHU+Dj NkTyrmJUzDYVC5ao6plJETUQ8ixHZ/zTrxvWS6jftPj1OYCJjN1iFAjxf c=;
X-IronPort-AV: E=Sophos;i="4.67,274,1309694400"; d="scan'208";a="74355184"
X-Ironport-HAT: APP-SERVERS - $RELAYED
X-Ironport-Source: 130.216.33.150 - Outgoing - Outgoing
Received: from mf1.fos.auckland.ac.nz ([130.216.33.150]) by mx2-int.auckland.ac.nz with ESMTP/TLS/AES256-SHA; 27 Jul 2011 17:34:11 +1200
Received: from login01.fos.auckland.ac.nz ([130.216.34.40]) by mf1.fos.auckland.ac.nz with esmtps (TLS1.0:RSA_AES_256_CBC_SHA1:32) (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from <pgut001@login01.cs.auckland.ac.nz>) id 1Qlwl1-0003FA-HR; Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:34:11 +1200
Received: from pgut001 by login01.fos.auckland.ac.nz with local (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from <pgut001@login01.cs.auckland.ac.nz>) id 1Qlwl1-0003tZ-Bf; Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:34:11 +1200
From: Peter Gutmann <pgut001@cs.auckland.ac.nz>
To: matt@mattmccutchen.net, pgut001@cs.auckland.ac.nz
In-Reply-To: <1311740206.7071.87.camel@localhost>
Message-Id: <E1Qlwl1-0003tZ-Bf@login01.fos.auckland.ac.nz>
Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:34:11 +1200
Cc: tls@ietf.org
Subject: Re: [TLS] HTTPS client-certificate-authentication in browsers
X-BeenThere: tls@ietf.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.12
Precedence: list
List-Id: "This is the mailing list for the Transport Layer Security working group of the IETF." <tls.ietf.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <https://www.ietf.org/mailman/options/tls>, <mailto:tls-request@ietf.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/tls>
List-Post: <mailto:tls@ietf.org>
List-Help: <mailto:tls-request@ietf.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/tls>, <mailto:tls-request@ietf.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 05:34:22 -0000

Matt McCutchen <matt@mattmccutchen.net> writes:

>Your reference to people with PhDs in computer science is misleading: a PhD
>is a highly specialized degree that does not necessarily imply broad computing
>ability.

"OK, so you have a PhD. Just don't touch anything" :-).  That was just the
first study, and I mentioned the PhD thing to avoid the "it was carried out on
students, they're not representative" criticism.  Other studies were carried
out on IT students (which I'd say is actually a good sample of very tech-savvy
users, so they'd be non-representative in being too good a fit rather than too
bad a fit), and possibly on random samples of people (I'd have to trawl
through the refs again to see who all the subjects were).  From memory I don't
think any were done on the Joe-Sixpack demographic, probably because the
outcome would be a foregone conclusion ("Failure to enrol: 100%").

Peter.