I'm opposed to using certs where public keys will do. Certificates especially X.509 are more complicated than the public keys that they reference. They include things like domain names, serial numbers, version numbers, etc.
The complexity of X.509 belongs in the domain name system. If a bunch of large corporations want to come up with complicated formats so they can decide who gets to call themselves what on the internet, let them do that, but don't let them complicate basic security for the rest of us.
The experience to beat is swapping SSH keys. 95% of developers have setup access to a new machine using SSH. That should be the default experience for authenticating on the internet, and anything more complicated should be strictly opt-in.
Yes, I agree much of the added complexity isn't necessary, but since TLS is a common and widely used protocol for just about everything other than SSH, it seems like it would be easier to plug in.
Edit: or put another way, why should I have to load another library for PKA when I already have one that works just fine?
DNS for key management is nonviable due to the lack of uptake of DNSSEC. Though it's an interesting hypothetical question whether that would still have been the case without X.509.
I'm opposed to using certs where public keys will do. Certificates especially X.509 are more complicated than the public keys that they reference. They include things like domain names, serial numbers, version numbers, etc.
The complexity of X.509 belongs in the domain name system. If a bunch of large corporations want to come up with complicated formats so they can decide who gets to call themselves what on the internet, let them do that, but don't let them complicate basic security for the rest of us.
The experience to beat is swapping SSH keys. 95% of developers have setup access to a new machine using SSH. That should be the default experience for authenticating on the internet, and anything more complicated should be strictly opt-in.
Yes, I agree much of the added complexity isn't necessary, but since TLS is a common and widely used protocol for just about everything other than SSH, it seems like it would be easier to plug in.
Edit: or put another way, why should I have to load another library for PKA when I already have one that works just fine?
DNS for key management is nonviable due to the lack of uptake of DNSSEC. Though it's an interesting hypothetical question whether that would still have been the case without X.509.