Protocols for issuing public-key certificates over the Internet

Until recently, public-key certiicate issuance has involved verifying users' identities and public keys over a separate|and presumably secure|channel, such as in person or over the phone. However, the recent draft SET speciication has changed that with a protocol for issuing public-key certiicates to credit card holders in an interaction that takes place entirely over the Internet. We describe the security concerns of protocols for public-key certiicate issuance. These concerns include US export controls, weak DES encryp-tion, and ooine guessing attacks. We motivate and describe two protocols that have appeared in drafts of the SET speciication. Plus, we describe a new protocol for public-key certiication issuance.