FreeICP.ORG: Free Trusted Certificates by Combining the X.509 Hierarchy and The PGP Web of Trust Through a Collaborative Trust Scoring System

摘要

This paper describes a CA hierarchy that mimicks PGP's web-of-trust model using a collaborative web-based trust scoring system to provide free client digital certifcates with strong identity guarantees. Entry-Level CAs that approve temporary short-lived certificates immediately may replace traditional password-based web registration systems; identity guarantees may be added later by passing several qualification rounds in a trust manager web application. When the user exceeds the minimum qualification criteria, he is granted a Verified Identity-class certificate. The system encourages users to tie their digital IDs with their real world IDs, making them more institutionally acceptable and sometimes automatically verifiable; it is argued how this can also provide means of mitigating and managing identity disputes. Experiences gathered from implementing both a CA hierarchy and a relying party web application based on these principles are also presented.