RE: Attribute encryption

If there is sufficient need for encrypting attribute values without encrypting the whole owner element, and I believe there is, then XML Encryption should do so. I have detailed a suggested mechanism in previous messages.

Regarding "XML provides a uniform way of structuring data; XML Encryption provides a uniform way of encrypting XML's primary structures." This is my vision of the purpose of XML Encryption. If the XML Encryption spec falls short of specifying a standard for encrypting and decrypting the XML structures important for the significant majority of applications and systems, then, in my view, the XML Encryption spec has not met its goal. In my view, "the XML structures important for the significant majority of applications and systems" includes XML elements, element content, attribute values, and referenced arbitrary data (eg. the secret.gif file referenced by the element "<image src="secret.gif"/>").

>One would encrypt a whole XML element when
>one wants to secure the content and the semantics. If one wants
>to preserve the semantics but secure the content of an element,
>then the result is an encrypted node list.

Do you thus agree that the same reason should be extended to attributes, since attributes are equivalent to child nodes from the perspective of data confidentiality. In other words, it should be possible to encrypt the attributes of an element and leave its name in clear.

>XML provides a uniform way of structuring data; XML Encryption
>provides a uniform way of encrypting XML's primary structures.

Dont understand this. Can you please explain.