Re: FW: [Fwd: Shared Key Authentication for the TLS Protocol-- anAlternative]

Dan Simon wrote:
> 
> >
> >From:  Jeff Williams[SMTP:jwkckid1@ix.netcom.com]
> >
> >  I suppose this would partly be a response to what Peter has rightly
> >pointed out.  I guess where I get confused is how does this address in
> >total, address standardazation of winsock's?
> >
> >If two Winsock implementations support TLS, and TLS includes shared-key
> >client authentication, then they would be able to do shared-key client
> >authentication interoperably.  If you're thinking about APIs rather than wire
> >formats, then a standardized API for shared-key authentication is no trickier
> >to come up with than one that handles public-key authentication--it's just
> >that this working group explicitly decided to avoid discussing APIs in its
> >hoped-for standard.
> >
> >>
> >>There is another justification for this incorporation in the case of
> >>shared-key authentication that does not apply in the case of public-key
> >>authentication:  if for any reason the channel used is not strongly
> >>encrypted, and the shared key being used for authentication is guessable
> >>(as is often the case for user-remembered passwords), then any fully
> >>layered solution will be vulnerable to brute-force offline attacks.
> >>Incorporating the authentication protocol into TLS allows a special
> >>exception to be made for the authentication data, strongly protecting it
> >>even if the normal traffic is not strongly encrypted.
> >
> >  Does this special exception for authentication data provide for
> >interoperability?
> >
> >Certainly.  It would occur automatically and transparently--"under the
> >covers", as it were.  No need for API changes, for example.
> >
> >
> >                               Daniel Simon
> >                               Cryptographer, Microsoft Corp.
> >                               dansimon@microsoft.com
> >
> >
> >
> >
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Received on Thursday, 3 October 1996 16:56:53 UTC