The Trust Shell Game

Abstract

Public key certification, network security and electronic commerce are all tightly bound to the concept of “trust”. Nearly every paper deals with the word. Yet, few if any define it and none really defines it in a way useful to cryptographic engineers. Some uses of the word act like a verbal shell game, confusing the reader. These might be intentional or innocent: a product of trying too hard to convince the reader or just careless use of a word thought understood by all. As an alternative, this paper proposes a more concrete approach to the body of issues falling under the label of “trust” — one meaningful to cryptographic, security and computer engineers.