Slashdot Mirror
Domain: cabforum.org
Stories and comments across the archive that link to cabforum.org.
Stories · 5
-
Microsoft Dumps Notorious Chinese Secure Certificate Vendor (zdnet.com)
Soon, neither Internet Explorer nor Edge will recognize new security certificates from Chinese Certificate Authorities WoSign and its subsidiary StartCom. ZDNet reports: A CA is a trusted entity that issues X.509 digital certificates that verify a digital entity's identity on the internet. Certificates include its owner's public key and name, the certificate's expiration date, encryption method, and other information about the public key owner. Typically, these are used to secure websites with the https protocol, lock down internet communications with Secure Sockets Layer and Transport Layer Security (SSL/TLS), and secure virtual private networks (VPNs). A corrupted certificate is barely better than no protection at all. It can be used to easily hack websites and "private" internet communications.
Microsoft has joined [Mozilla, Google and Apple] in abandoning trust in their certificates. A Microsoft representative wrote: "Microsoft has concluded that the Chinese CAs WoSign and StartCom have failed to maintain the standards required by our Trusted Root Program. Observed unacceptable security practices include back-dating SHA-1 certificates, mis-issuances of certificates, accidental certificate revocation, duplicate certificate serial numbers, and multiple CAB Forum Baseline Requirements (BR) [issuance and management rules for public certificates] violations." Microsoft will start "the natural deprecation of WoSign and StartCom certificates by setting a 'NotBefore' date of 26 September 2017. This means all existing certificates will continue to function until they self-expire. Windows 10 will not trust any new certificates from these CAs after September 2017." -
Server Snafu Makes Microsoft Beg For CA Audit Data From Its Partners (softpedia.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft, just like Google, Apple, and Mozilla, is part of the CA/BForum, an organization of web browser vendors and certification authorities (CAs). As a browser vendor, Microsoft maintains a list of authorized CAs and their respective root certificates. According to a message on the CA/BForum, there was an error on the server that was running a CRM application that managed this list of trusted certificates and the adjacent details regarding each certificate and CA. The data is lost forever and Microsoft is now asking CAs to resend their most recent audits. Currently a lot of certs are broken in Edge and IE. Microsoft says that it lost audit data for 147 root certificates, which resulted in many SSL/TLS certificates showing errors inside the company's products. -
Why Google Is Pushing For a Web Free of SHA-1
An anonymous reader writes: Google recently announced Chrome will be gradually phasing out support for certificates using SHA-1 encryption. They said, "We need to ensure that by the time an attack against SHA-1 is demonstrated publicly, the web has already moved away from it." Developer Eric Mill has written up a post explaining why SHA-1 is dangerously weak, and why moving browsers away from acceptance of SHA-1 is a lengthy, but important process. Both Microsoft and Mozilla have deprecation plans in place, but Google's taking the additional step of showing the user that it's not secure. "This is a gutsy move by Google, and represents substantial risk. One major reason why it's been so hard for browsers to move away from signature algorithms is that when browsers tell a user an important site is broken, the user believes the browser is broken and switches browsers. Google seems to be betting that Chrome is trusted enough for its security and liked enough by its users that they can withstand the first mover disadvantage. Opera has also backed Google's plan. The Safari team is watching developments and hasn't announced anything." -
New Standard For Issuance of SSL/TLS Certificates
wiredmikey writes "In light of the many security breaches and incidents that have undermined the faith the IT industry has in Certificate Authorities (CAs) and their wares, the CA/Browser Forum, an organization of leading CAs and other software vendors, has released the 'Baseline Requirements for the Issuance and Management of Publicly-Trusted Certificates,' an industry-wide baseline standard for the operation of CAs issuing SSL/TLS digital certificates natively trusted by the browser. The CA/Browser Forum is requesting Web browser and operating system vendors adopt the requirements (PDF) as part of their conditions to distribute CA root certificates in their software. According to the forum, the Baseline Requirements are based on best practices from across the SSL/TLS sector and touch on a number of subjects, such as the verification of identity, certificate content and profiles, CA security and revocation mechanisms. The requirements become effective July 1, 2012, and will continue to evolve to address new risks and threats." -
New Extended SSL Certs Make Online Debut
An anonymous reader writes "The first of the new 'extended validation' SSL certificates went live this week, signaling the latest effort by the browser makers and major Web sites to further verify the identity of SSL applicants and help consumers spot fraudulent Web sites, the Washington Post's Security Fix blog notes. The technology is pretty simple: Visit a login page for a site that uses one of these EV certs and the browser bar turns green; likewise, the browser's anti-phishing filters can turn the URL field red when the user is at a known phishing site. There is still quite a bit of debate over whether this whole scheme isn't just a new money-making racket for the SSL providers, and whether small mom-and-pop shops will be able to afford the pricey new certs."