#social 2019-01-09
2019-01-09 UTC
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# 
fr33domlover Hello everyone
# fr33domlover In ActivityPub and HTTP signatures, does it make sense to use a single key for all actors?
# fr33domlover Like each server uses a single key to sign all messages
# rialtate[m] To a certain extent yes, http sigs irrevocably ties the actor pub key to a private one in the server's possession and precludes AP client based dropin E2EE.
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# fr33domlover rialtate[m], hmm why precludes? Also to which extent is the answer yes? ^_^
# rialtate[m] Well "master keys" are generally supposed to be treated specially in proper cryptography, e.g. Hardware Security Module. And even then, generally speaking, you would use the master key to secure many individual e.g. message keys, or in this case maybe actors.
# rialtate[m] As for E2EE if it is a different key for http sigs then the other side needs to know where to look for the e2ee key. Without http sigs naive software can let the user decide if they think the server might have possession of the key (e.g. do they trust the admin is running unmodified server software with no mitm, which could be supplemented with hash type verification schemes)
# fr33domlover rialtate[m], hmmm what if key rotation occurs? i.e. that master key is changed once an hour or so? Generally in web apps AFAIK there may be a key used for encrypting session cookies, all clients of the web app have their cookies encrypted with that same key. Is that safe here too? To sign all relevant HTTP requests with the same key? (especially if it gets regenerated on a regular basis)
# fr33domlover I mean, basically when server A sends an activity to server B, server B wants to be sure server A agrees that activity came from the specified actor
# fr33domlover Since server A holds all the keys anyway, giving each actor a separate key is a bit sort of pretending
# fr33domlover Becase the truth is, what you really check is that server A approves the signature, not whether the user does
# fr33domlover So might as well use a single key?
# fr33domlover (That represents the single server A)
# rialtate[m] Yeah. A frequently changed key would be about the same security profile as standard https keys more or less (trading user escalation for remote code execution attack surfaces)
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# hellekin Hi there. Taking the opportunity of the upcoming meeting to drop a line on the ActivityPub round table that will happen at next FOSDEM https://forum.enough.community/t/invitation-to-prepare-the-activitypub-round-table-at-fosdem/253
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# hellekin oh sorry, I pasted the wrong one. https://forum.enough.community/t/activitypub-round-table/134
# hellekin csarven: just added the link to https://fosdem.org/2019/schedule/track/decentralized_internet_and_privacy/
# hellekin (speakers not yet settled / announced)
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# melody i never know anymore
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# eprodrom Are we in the middle of a telecon?
# melody if we were i'd expect minutes
# hellekin it should have started 23 minutes ago
# hellekin I don't have mumble right now...
# eprodrom Nobody on mumble
# hellekin Chocobozzz: I know you're going to be at the Framasoft GA instead of FOSDEM but it would be nice to have you in the preparation discussion for the ActivityPub round table (and all of you present on this channel I guess :)
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# hellekin so is the meeting not happening then?
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# heluecht[m] hellekin (IRC): Give some details for that round table.
# heluecht[m] Chocobozzz: Yeah, it's sad that you aren't on FOSDEM. I would have liked to have problems in federation solved with you.
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# hellekin Chocobozzz: did you just imply you will be at FOSDEM?
# hellekin heluecht[m]: what details would you like? It's a round table that cwebber2 is interested in having, and that should bring together a number of AP actors (editors, contributors, implementors). Topics have not yet been discussed, that's why we're having this preparatory discussion this month.
# hellekin Chocobozzz: oops. I interpreted heluecht[m]'s answer as yours for some reason. I guess I lost the habit of my IRC... Dammit.
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