Subject: Adding Certified NTP as a possible standard for portable trust in networking systems

From: Todd Glassey <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 09:40:13 -0800

Hi all,
I want to propose the consideration of
using a certified NTP timestamp as the
basis of a portable trust model and
nonreputiead network timing. We and many
others in the associated IETF WG's have
long known the value of digital
timestamps for fixing a point of
reference to an event. Consider the
value if the source of the timestamp and
it's facility can be verified and
proffered as a certified network entity.
This is the birth of truly nonrepudiated
events and their logging.

This capability brings a whole new light
to the world of certificates and
networking policy. Imagine email with
built-in timestamping and nonrepudiated
logging. Especially if combined with the
automated reply services now proposed
for SMTP. This timestamping technology
goes a tremendous way to enabling the
collapsing of human commerce models into
the digital domain.

The use models of the NTP supplied
timestamps will fit in all groups
standards efforts, but especially are of
interest to the PKIX WG. These
timestamping extensions without any real
sweat enable the PKIX #7 Time Extensions
directly. Thus the settling on certified
NTP as the basis of the timestamp source
creates a horizontal technology that is
directly applicable to a number of IETF
and other Standards Working Groups
including those of ANSI, The ABA, and
the SEC. All in all it makes sense for
everyone in our mind.

To this end, Coastek [Glassey and
McNeil] and David Mills have
collaborated on an extended NTP Spec and
an Interoperability Spec for Coastek's
variant of SNTP (since most financial
systems will mandate stratum-1 sources
for security reasons). This first draft
is on-file with the IETF as and
Individual Contributor at the following
URL:
ftp://ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-mills-ntp-auth-coexist-00.txt

The Coastek specific use models draft
and a third draft on portable-trust and
logging systems will follow in the next
two weeks. We apologize for the lateness
of these drafts as we intended to have
them available pre-meeting but you know
how the last minute crunch is.

Todd Glassey