[wellylug] CA-CERT Assurance

[Simon Anderson]

Hello Wellington LUG,

Are you interested in obtaining free digital certificates? If so, read on.

I am an Assurer for CA-Cert, a grass roots, community, non-profit 
certificate authority. Together with the other two Assurers for New 
Zealand (Kevin Sartorelli and Jonathah Ah Kit) we propose to attend a WLUG 
meeting for the purpose of CA-Cert assurance if there is sufficient  
interest amongst you.

http://cacert.org

CA-Cert is a relatively new project, based on the assumption that security 
should be available to all and that cost does not equate with quality. 

CA-Cert has seen rapid adoption during it's short life, particularly for 
those that cannot justify the cost or are unhappy with the service of 
commercial certificates but are unsatisfied by "self signing." CACert 
expects the Mozilla Foundation to include it's certificate in the next 
major release of it's Browsers, as discussions to this end have been 
underway for some time.

CA-Cert has multiple levels of trust. Users accumulate "Assurance points" 
to buil up trust, with the following thresholds;

50 Points - Named User
100 Points - Base Assurer
150 Points - Full Assurer

Assurers are capable of assigning Assurance points to other users, up to a 
maximum of 35 points so a named certificate ratified by CACert for your 
email or server services requires you to obtain assurance from at least 
two individual Assurers (though there are other methods of proving your 
identify supported by CACert.)

Assurance points can be obtained in several different manners, these are 
discussed on the website. The easiest method is to physically meet with an 
Assurer and prove your identity via government issued photographic I.D., 
such as a driver's license or Passport. This is why the three of us 
propose attending a WLUG meeting, as prospective CA-Cert users can get all 
of this out of the way in one fell swoop and become named users or even 
Assurers. Here's how;

Step 1. Join CA Cert.

Register as a user on the CA-Cert website. CA-Cert will confirm your email 
address in the usual manner.

Step 2. Confirm your identity to an Assurer

Bring a government issued photographic I.D., a photocopy of it and your 
CA-Cert username. The Assurers will verify your identity, fill out a form 
for you to sign, confirm the details with CA-Cert and give you assurance 
points.

Step 3. Issue yourself certificates to your heart's content.

As I mentioned above, the three of us are happy to attend a WLUG meeting 
for Step 2. If there is enough interest, which you should indicate by 
emailing me.

If there is not enough interest or if our attendance at your LUG meeting 
is inappropriate, those interested in CA-Cert should contact us 
individually to arrange Assurance. Our details are on the site.

Regards,
Simon. 

-- 
--
Simon Robert Anderson		Mo: +64 (0) 21 891 826
--