The Public Key Muddle – How to Manage Transparent End-to-end Encryption in Organizations

Abstract

We discuss the business requirements and available solutions for end-to-end encryption in the application areas of electronic mail, instant messaging, file exchange and voice over IP. We will show that many applications today rather fulfil the security requirements of a private user than those of an organization. Our special focus is on the provided key management schemes that often do not satisfy the business needs. Combining encryption products from different vendors can then lead to a public key muddle. For key management a universal X.509 based PKI meets today’s business requirements best. We show how the consistent distribution of certificates and private keys to encryption applications on all user devices can be done. This will help to consolidate and automate key management processes leading to reduced operational security costs and high user satisfaction.