Login | Register For Free | Help
Search for: (Advanced)

Mailing List Archive: GnuPG: users

Why a full keys and sub keys backup are not proposed when keys and sub keys are done "on-card" ?

 

 

GnuPG users RSS feed   Index | Next | Previous | View Threaded


tux.tsndcb at free

Sep 27, 2009, 12:38 AM

Post #1 of 5 (814 views)
Permalink
Why a full keys and sub keys backup are not proposed when keys and sub keys are done "on-card" ?

Hi,

Just for information, I wanted to known why you don't propose a full backup of the three keys (Sign, encryption and authentication) when keys are generated "on-card". Because only encryption key is backupted, a good idea will be perhaps to add also authentication key in the backup.

Thanks for more information about it.

Best Regards

_______________________________________________
Gnupg-users mailing list
Gnupg-users [at] gnupg
http://lists.gnupg.org/mailman/listinfo/gnupg-users


wk at gnupg

Sep 27, 2009, 4:09 AM

Post #2 of 5 (759 views)
Permalink
Re: Why a full keys and sub keys backup are not proposed when keys and sub keys are done "on-card" ? [In reply to]

On Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:38, tux.tsndcb [at] free said:

> Just for information, I wanted to known why you don't propose a full backup of the three keys (Sign, encryption and authentication) when keys are generated "on-card". Because only encryption key is backupted, a good idea will be perhaps to add also authentication key in the backup.

A lost of a signing or authentication key is usually not that
problematic. You can simply create a new one and use it from then on.

If you don't have access to the decryption key anymore you won't be
able to decrypt any of the data you decrypted in the past to that key.
Thus some kind of recovery is in most cases very useful.


Shalom-Salam,

Werner

--
Die Gedanken sind frei. Auschnahme regelt ein Bundeschgesetz.


_______________________________________________
Gnupg-users mailing list
Gnupg-users [at] gnupg
http://lists.gnupg.org/mailman/listinfo/gnupg-users


tux.tsndcb at free

Sep 27, 2009, 11:59 AM

Post #3 of 5 (750 views)
Permalink
Why a full keys and sub keys backup are not proposed when keys and sub keys are done "on-card" ? [In reply to]

Hi Werner,

Thanks for your answer, I'm agree with you for sign key, but for the authentication key, if it's used to ssh server connection on more than 100 servers for the user root for example, if you lost this key, you cannot more connect on server with the user root. In this case, I think it will be a big problematic. It's for that than I suggested to add the authentication key, but it's just a suggestion.

Best Regards


----- Mail Original -----
De: "Werner Koch" <wk [at] gnupg>
À: "tux tsndcb" <tux.tsndcb [at] free>
Cc: gnupg-users [at] gnupg
Envoyé: Dimanche 27 Septembre 2009 13h09:36 GMT +01:00 Amsterdam / Berlin / Berne / Rome / Stockholm / Vienne
Objet: Re: Why a full keys and sub keys backup are not proposed when keys and sub keys are done "on-card" ?

On Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:38, tux.tsndcb [at] free said:

> Just for information, I wanted to known why you don't propose a full backup of the three keys (Sign, encryption and authentication) when keys are generated "on-card". Because only encryption key is backupted, a good idea will be perhaps to add also authentication key in the backup.

A lost of a signing or authentication key is usually not that
problematic. You can simply create a new one and use it from then on.

If you don't have access to the decryption key anymore you won't be
able to decrypt any of the data you decrypted in the past to that key.
Thus some kind of recovery is in most cases very useful.


Shalom-Salam,

Werner

--
Die Gedanken sind frei. Auschnahme regelt ein Bundeschgesetz.


_______________________________________________
Gnupg-users mailing list
Gnupg-users [at] gnupg
http://lists.gnupg.org/mailman/listinfo/gnupg-users


wk at gnupg

Sep 28, 2009, 12:34 AM

Post #4 of 5 (759 views)
Permalink
Re: Why a full keys and sub keys backup are not proposed when keys and sub keys are done "on-card" ? [In reply to]

On Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:59, tux.tsndcb [at] free said:

> Thanks for your answer, I'm agree with you for sign key, but for the
> authentication key, if it's used to ssh server connection on more than
> 100 servers for the user root for example, if you lost this key, you

It is always a tradeoff between security and convenience. Most users
don't have access to that many machines and thus it is easier to use a
console login to replace the lost key than to have a backup somewhere
floating around.

It is anyway only the default and you can just replace the
authentication key with an on-disk created one. Or manually initialize
the card using keytocard.

Another approach is to have a second card and also install its public
key on the servers.


Salam-Shalom,

Werner

--
Die Gedanken sind frei. Auschnahme regelt ein Bundeschgesetz.


_______________________________________________
Gnupg-users mailing list
Gnupg-users [at] gnupg
http://lists.gnupg.org/mailman/listinfo/gnupg-users


tux.tsndcb at free

Sep 28, 2009, 2:22 AM

Post #5 of 5 (743 views)
Permalink
Why a full keys and sub keys backup are not proposed when keys and sub keys are done "on-card" ? [In reply to]

Hi Werner,

Thanks for these informations.

Best Regards


----- Mail Original -----
De: "Werner Koch" <wk [at] gnupg>
À: "tux tsndcb" <tux.tsndcb [at] free>
Cc: gnupg-users [at] gnupg
Envoyé: Lundi 28 Septembre 2009 09h34:28 GMT +01:00 Amsterdam / Berlin / Berne / Rome / Stockholm / Vienne
Objet: Re: Why a full keys and sub keys backup are not proposed when keys and sub keys are done "on-card" ?

On Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:59, tux.tsndcb [at] free said:

> Thanks for your answer, I'm agree with you for sign key, but for the
> authentication key, if it's used to ssh server connection on more than
> 100 servers for the user root for example, if you lost this key, you

It is always a tradeoff between security and convenience. Most users
don't have access to that many machines and thus it is easier to use a
console login to replace the lost key than to have a backup somewhere
floating around.

It is anyway only the default and you can just replace the
authentication key with an on-disk created one. Or manually initialize
the card using keytocard.

Another approach is to have a second card and also install its public
key on the servers.


Salam-Shalom,

Werner

--
Die Gedanken sind frei. Auschnahme regelt ein Bundeschgesetz.


_______________________________________________
Gnupg-users mailing list
Gnupg-users [at] gnupg
http://lists.gnupg.org/mailman/listinfo/gnupg-users

GnuPG users RSS feed   Index | Next | Previous | View Threaded
 
 


Interested in having your list archived? Contact Gossamer Threads
 
  Web Applications & Managed Hosting Powered by Gossamer Threads Inc.