Cryptographic system and methodology for creating and managing crypto policy on certificate servers

Abstract

A cryptosystem having a Certificate (Key) Server for storing and maintaining certificate or key information in a certificate database is described. The Certificate Server allows clients to submit and retrieve keys from a database based on a set of policy constraints which are set for one's particular site (e.g., company). Access to the Certificate Server is maintained by a Certificate Policy Agent, which makes sure that the policy is enforced for a given site based on the information supplied during the configuration. During operation, the Certificate Server responds to client requests to add, search for, and retrieve certificates. The server accepts or rejects certificates based on configurable parameters enforced by a Certificate Policy Agent. When a certificate is submitted to the server, the Certificate Policy Agent checks to see if it meets the criteria for a given site based on the settings specified during the configuration. Exemplary types of checks that the Certificate Policy Agent can enforce include checking to see if the key has been signed by the appropriate entities and checking to see if the signatures or User IDs associated with a key are approved for submission. If the submission criteria established during the configuration are met, the key is accepted by the server. If the key being submitted does not pass the policy requirements, it is rejected and (optionally) a copy is placed in a “pending bucket” where the key can subsequently be examined by the system administrator to determine if the key should be allowed on the server.