diff -r 48780e181b38 -r 578be2adaf3e Symbian3/PDK/Source/GUID-911E9F7E-D0AD-55EC-A3F4-1D427F803780.dita --- a/Symbian3/PDK/Source/GUID-911E9F7E-D0AD-55EC-A3F4-1D427F803780.dita Tue Jul 20 12:00:49 2010 +0100 +++ b/Symbian3/PDK/Source/GUID-911E9F7E-D0AD-55EC-A3F4-1D427F803780.dita Fri Aug 13 16:47:46 2010 +0100 @@ -1,49 +1,49 @@ - - - - - -Certificates -

A certificate binds a public key to a certain individual/entity. This is -usually done using digital signatures: if a certificate bearing a public key -and an individual's name is signed with a key pair which you already trust, -then you can rest assure that the public key in the certificate really does -belong to the individual named in the certificate.

-

Different standards using Public Key Cryptography employ different models -for using certificates to establish trust. Such a model, encompassing data -structures, rules for their use, and users of them, may be referred to as -a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). SSL, TLS and S/MIME all use X.509 v.3 certificates, -and a hierarchical PKI in which users are certified by Certification Authorities.

-

All data which appear in the interface between the Symbian platform and -the rest of the world need a transport encoding, and it is in this form that -they are sent and received. The transport encoding for X.509 data structures -is DER encoded ASN.1.

-

Certification Authorities

-

Certification Authorities (CAs) are trusted third parties which perform -the following functions in the PKIX public key infrastructure:

- + + + + + +Certificates +

A certificate binds a public key to a certain individual/entity. This is +usually done using digital signatures: if a certificate bearing a public key +and an individual's name is signed with a key pair which you already trust, +then you can rest assure that the public key in the certificate really does +belong to the individual named in the certificate.

+

Different standards using Public Key Cryptography employ different models +for using certificates to establish trust. Such a model, encompassing data +structures, rules for their use, and users of them, may be referred to as +a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). SSL, TLS and S/MIME all use X.509 v.3 certificates, +and a hierarchical PKI in which users are certified by Certification Authorities.

+

All data which appear in the interface between the Symbian platform and +the rest of the world need a transport encoding, and it is in this form that +they are sent and received. The transport encoding for X.509 data structures +is DER encoded ASN.1.

+

Certification Authorities

+

Certification Authorities (CAs) are trusted third parties which perform +the following functions in the PKIX public key infrastructure:

+
    +

  • provide trusted 'root' +certificates to users (End Entities), by supplying them with the CA's public +key

    • +

  • certifying End Entities: +checking that they are who they say they are, and generating certificates +for them. The certified End Entity is the subject of the certificate: +the CA is the issuer

    • +

  • supporting certificate +revocation and revocation checking: if an End Entity suspects that their key +has been compromised, they contact the Certification Authority which issued +it. CAs publish lists of revoked certificates (known as Certificate Revocation +Lists) at regular intervals, which End Entities can use to check that certificates +sent to them have not been revoked

    • +

  • publishing certificates: +the most likely place for this is an LDAP directory, since X.509 certificates +identify their subjects and issuers by describing a path through an X.500 +directory

    • +
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