Security threats Toolkit

Web security padlocks to be reinforced

Tags:
Encryption,
SSL,
CA Forum,
Certification Authority

Joris Evers CNET News

Published: 13 Dec 2005 11:15 GMT

The yellow security padlock in Web browsers, weakened by lax standards and loose supervision, will get reinforced next year with tougher requirements and browser updates.

The browser icon was designed to show that traffic with a Web site is encrypted and that a third party, called a certification authority, has identified the site and vouches for its validity. But in recent years, standards of verification have slipped, undermining the sense of security implied by the padlock.

To solve that problem, a group of companies that issue the SSL certificates are working with major Web browser makers to develop a new type of "high-assurance" certificate. The informal organisation, dubbed the CA Forum, has held three unpublicised meetings this year and plans to meet again next year, representatives from the companies involved told ZDNet UK's sister site CNET News.com.

"We as an industry must look into trust threats," said Melih Abdulhayoglu, chief executive of Comodo, a certification authority based in New Jersey, that set up the first CA Forum meeting. "You want the padlock to be meaningful. At the moment the value is confused because some providers issue certificates willy-nilly."

The planned new security certificates, allied to Web browser changes, are meant to help rebuild trust in the Web and fight phishing in particular.

The lock icon was designed to assure consumers that online transactions, such as banking and shopping, are protected. As such, it's key to Web commerce, a big business — Forrester Research predicts online retail sales in the US will grow from $172bn (£97bn) this year to $329bn (£186bn) in 2010.

The issue has become more urgent with the advent of phishing scams, which use phony Web sites to trick unsuspecting victims into giving up sensitive information. Some phishers have used valid certificates to give their fraudulent sites a sense of legitimacy with a padlock icon.

"The level of identification that certification authorities do today is subject to somewhat broad standards," said Rob Franco, lead program manager for IE security at Microsoft. "In a world where users get phished and sites try to misrepresent themselves, I think it is important to have a new standard with more identity backing."

Significance of the padlock
Today's SSL certificates contain an encryption key, which the certification authority attests belongs to the organisation noted in the certificate. Its task is to verify an applicant's credentials, so that Web site users can trust the information in the certificates.

Initially, all certificate providers performed thorough checks of applicants before they issued a security certificate for a Web site. Several years ago, however, some providers relaxed their background checks in order to offer cheaper certificates, and the rest of the market followed, industry members said. Some companies will supply a certificate based on little more than a valid email address, for example.

"The problem with a basic certificate is that the level of screening is too low, and the validation method at the browser is not easy enough for average user," said Jim Maloney, chief security officer at Corillian, which provides...

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