Re: [TLS] TLS, PKI,

[Martin Rex <[e-mail]>]

Marsh Ray wrote:
> 
> Specifically it was designed to allow the masses to make secure* 
> connections to e-retailers with which they had no prior agreement. 
> Having a pre-trusted third party perform the introduction is probably 
> the only way to accomplish that. Trust-on-first-use and PGP web-of-trust 
> type models were simply not going to get the shoppers online.

Trust-on-first-use would have worked just fine, and would be
several magnitudes more secure than the mess there is with the
dozens of independent, pre-trusted and equivalent roots.

In case you forgot, Browsers orignally used to show a warning
popup when you switched from plain HTTP to HTTPS, and you had
to checkmarked to not see that warning anymore -- which negates
your point that trust-on-first-encounter would not have worked.


> 
> *secure = Secure enough to convince people it's safe to type in their 
> credit card online, yet not so secure that it presented a real obstacle 
> to government decryption.

There is no need to convince people.  This is why social engineering
is so much easier and works so reliably compared to attacking
encrypted communication.


> 
> I may "trust" every CA approved by my browser vendor in the sense that I 
> estimate with 99% probability that that CA will not act in a way which 
> diminishes my effective security.


The concept that you describe is commonly known as "faith".
"trust" in the security area used to have a very different meaning.


-Martin