Provided by: monkeysphere_0.41-1ubuntu1_all bug

NAME

       monkeysphere - ssh and TLS authentication framework using OpenPGP Web of Trust

DESCRIPTION

       Monkeysphere  is a framework to leverage the OpenPGP web of trust for OpenSSH and TLS key-
       based  authentication.   OpenPGP  keys  are  tracked  via  GnuPG,   and   added   to   the
       authorized_keys  and  known_hosts  files  used  by  OpenSSH for connection authentication.
       Monkeysphere can also be used by a validation agent  to  validate  TLS  connections  (e.g.
       https).

IDENTITY CERTIFIERS

       Each  host  that  uses the Monkeysphere to authenticate its remote users needs some way to
       determine  that  those  users  are  who  they  claim  to  be.    SSH   permits   key-based
       authentication,  but  we  want instead to bind authenticators to human-comprehensible user
       identities.  This switch from raw keys to User IDs makes it possible for administrators to
       see  intuitively who has access to an account, and it also enables end users to transition
       keys (and revoke compromised ones) automatically across  all  Monkeysphere-enabled  hosts.
       The  User  IDs and certifications that the Monkeysphere relies on are found in the OpenPGP
       Web of Trust.

       However, in order to establish this binding, each host must know  whose  cerifications  to
       trust.   Someone  who  a  host  trusts  to  certify  User Identities is called an Identity
       Certifier.  A host must have at least one Identity Certifier in order to bind User IDs  to
       keys.   Commonly,  every  ID  Certifier would be trusted by the host to fully identify any
       User ID, but more nuanced approaches are possible as well.   For  example,  a  given  host
       could specify a dozen ID certifiers, but assign them all "marginal" trust.  Then any given
       User ID would need to be certified in the OpenPGP Web of Trust by at least three of  those
       certifiers.

       It  is  also possible to limit the scope of trust for a given ID Certifier to a particular
       domain.  That is, a host can be configured to fully (or marginally) trust a particular  ID
       Certifier  only when they certify identities within, say, example.org (based on the e-mail
       address in the User ID).

KEY ACCEPTABILITY

       The monkeysphere commands work from a set of user IDs to determine acceptable keys for ssh
       and  TLS authentication.  OpenPGP keys are considered acceptable if the following criteria
       are met:

       capability
              The key must have the `authentication' (`a') usage flag set.

       validity
              The key itself must be valid, i.e. it must be well-formed,  not  expired,  and  not
              revoked.

       certification
              The relevant user ID must be signed by a trusted identity certifier.

HOST IDENTIFICATION

       The  OpenPGP  keys  for  hosts have associated `service names` (OpenPGP user IDs) that are
       based on URI specifications for the service.  Some examples:

       ssh:   ssh://host.example.com[:port]

       https: https://host.example.com[:port]

AUTHOR

       Written  by:   Jameson   Rollins   <jrollins@finestructure.net>,   Daniel   Kahn   Gillmor
       <dkg@fifthhorseman.net>

SEE ALSO

       monkeysphere(1),   monkeysphere-host(8),  monkeysphere-authentication(8),  openpgp2ssh(1),
       pem2openpgp(1),        gpg(1),         http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4880,         ssh(1),
       http://tools.ietf.org/wg/secsh/draft-ietf-secsh-scp-sftp-ssh-uri/