Distributed storage and revocation in digital certificate databases

Abstract

Public-key cryptography is fast becoming the foundation for those applications that require security and authentication in open networks. But the widespread use of a global public-key cryptosystem requires that public-key certificates are always available and up-to-date. Problems associated to digital certificates management, like storage, retrieval, maintenance, and, specially, revocation, require special procedures that ensure reliable features because of the critical significance of inaccuracies. Most of the existing systems use a Certificate Revocation List, a repository of certificates that have been revoked before their expiration date. The need to access CRLs in order to check certificate revocations becomes a performance handicap. Furthermore, they introduce a source of vulnerability in the whole security infrastructure, as it is impossible to produce a new CRL each time a revocation takes place. This paper introduces an alternative for the storage of digital certificates that avoids the use of CRLs. The system is designed to provide a distributed management of digital certificates by using Certification Authorities that, while being part of a whole Public-Key Infrastructure, operate over local certificates databases. Communication protocols between local databases have been designed to minimize network traffic without a lack of security and efficiency.