CAcert Inc.

Questions

Why are people still using digital post-cards?

Why are people still using passwords, and sending them in clear text?

What can I do to protect myself and my privacy?

Strategic goal

Privacy through encryption

Security through authentication

Trust for the Internet

Solution to the chicken-and-egg problem: Certificates and applications

Tasks of a CA

“Certification Authority”

A CA digitally binds the identity of people and organisations (“identity-binding”)

Issues digital
certificates

Applications

Securing a Webserver with HTTPS

Signing and encrypting Emails

SSL/TLS Server applications

Authentication for websites

Authentication for VPN´s

CAcert Inc.

CAcert Inc. is a registered non-profit organisation based in Australia, which defines the rules and operates the servers

Start www.CAcert.org: 2002

Founding CAcert Inc.: 2003

Identity-binding

Until now: Verification of the identity for every certificate, costs ~ 200,- USD per certificate per year

How does it help, if I can afford a certificate, but the rest of the world can´t?

CAcert separates the Assurance (verification of the identity with gov. photo-ID) from the
issueing of the certificates

Assurance

Assurance is a service, where an Assurer verifies the identity of a person

with a government issued photo-ID

and affirms for CAcert, and issues points on the life-long account at CAcert

free market

>4000 Assurer worldwide

Point schema

With 50 points you can issue certificates

With 100 points you become an Assurer, you can give other people a maximum of 10 points, and you get 2 points for doing it.

Upto 150 points, where you can give 35 points

Certificates

Life-long account at CAcert

Issue certificates yourself anytime on the internet

certificates are free of charge

unlimited number of certificates

therefore you only have initial costs, no followup costs

Technology

X.509 certificates

server certificates

client certificates

code-signing certificates (Java, Active-X, Cellular phones, ...)

IDN-Domains

OpenPGP

OpenPGP Signatures

CAcert is the first platform and technology neutral CA!

Security

CAcert is being audited with a WebTrust compatible Audit, which is a worldwide recognized Audit for CA´s

4-eyes principle

open and transparent structure

sourcecode is available for audits

instant revocation lists + OCSP

Success?

Verified Users: > 40000

Issued Certificates: > 80000

Assurers: > 4000

in more than 29 countries

translated into 14 languages

http://www.cacert.org/stats.php

Thank you very much

http://www.cacert.org/

http://wiki.cacert.org/
Any questions?

CAcert

CAcert Inc.

CAcert CA Zertifizierungsdiensteanbieter X.509 Zertifikate SSL TLS S/Mime Digitale Signatur Verschlüsselung

Philipp Gühring

2005-04-06T09:50:33