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[FAB-8555] Identity Conceptual Doc: Corrections
This changeset addresses pending comments on the identity document from https://gerrit.hyperledger.org/r/#/c/17481/. Change-Id: If45d82fc9bf3e27f839b275837974d55d63e1293 Signed-off-by: Elli Androulaki <lli@zurich.ibm.com>
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docs/source/identity/identity.md

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@@ -91,8 +91,8 @@ FOO Corporation in Detroit, Michigan might have a digital certificate with a
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`SUBJECT` attribute of `C=US, ST=Michigan, L=Detroit, O=FOO Corporation, OU=Accounting,
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CN=John Doe /UID=123456`. John's certificate is similar to his government identity
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card -- it provides information about John which he can use to prove key facts about him.
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There are many other attributes in an X.509 certificate, but concentrate on just these
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for now.
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There are many other attributes in an X.509 certificate, but let's concentrate
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on just these for now.
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![DigitalCertificate](./identity.diagram.8.png)
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@@ -114,9 +114,10 @@ certificate as a digital identity card that is impossible to change.
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## Authentication \& Public keys and Private Keys
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Authentication and message integrity are important concepts of secure communication,
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requiring tha parties who exchange messages can be ensured of the identity that created
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a specific message, as well as the message was not modified during its transmission.
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Authentication and message integrity are important concepts of secure
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communication. Authentication requires that parties who exchange messages
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can be assured of the identity that created a specific message. Integrity
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requires that the message was not modified during its transmission.
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For example, you might want to be sure you're communicating with the real John
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Doe than an impersonator. Or if John has sent you a message, you might want to be sure
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that it hasn't been tampered with by anyone else during transmission.
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hold two cryptographically connected keys: a public key that is made widely available,
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and acts as authentication anchor, and a private key that is used to produce
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**digital signatures** on messages. Recipients of digitally signed messages can verify
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their origin and integrity by checking that the attached signature matches the public key
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of the expected sender.
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the origin and integrity of a received message by checking that the
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attached signature is valid under the public key of the expected sender.
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**The unique relationship between a private key and the respective public key is the
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cryptographic magic that makes secure communications possible**. The unique
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![AuthenticationKeys](./identity.diagram.9.png)
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In th example above, to authenticate his message Joe uses his private key to produce a
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In the example above, to authenticate his message Joe uses his private key to produce a
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signature on the message, which he then attaches to the message. The signature
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can be verified by anyone who sees the signed message, using John's public key.
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@@ -151,7 +152,7 @@ can be verified by anyone who sees the signed message, using John's public key.
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As you've seen, an actor or a node is able to participate in the blockchain network,
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via the means of a **digital identity** issued for it by an authority trusted by the
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system. In the most common case, digital identities (or simply **identities**) have
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the form of cryptographically validated digital certificatesi that comply with X.509
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the form of cryptographically validated digital certificates that comply with X.509
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standard, and are issued by a Certificate Authority (CA).
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CAs are a common part of internet security protocols, and you've probably heard of
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by the holder of the corresponding private key (the CA).
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In the Blockchain setting, every actor who wishes to interact with the network
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needs an identity. In this setting, you might say that **one or more CAs** can be uded
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needs an identity. In this setting, you might say that **one or more CAs** can be used
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to **define the members of an organization's from a
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digital perspective**. It's the CA that provides the basis for an
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organization's actors to have a verifiable digital identity.
@@ -195,7 +196,7 @@ that is issued by any CA in the chain. This ability to track back to the Root
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CA not only allows the function of CAs to scale while still providing security
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-- allowing organizations that consume certificates to use Intermediate CAs with
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confidence -- it limits the exposure of the Root CA, which, if compromised, would
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destroy the entire chain of trust. If an Intermediate CA is compromised, on the
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endanger the entire chain of trust. If an Intermediate CA is compromised, on the
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other hand, there is a much smaller exposure.
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![ChainOfTrust](./identity.diagram.1.png)
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It's because CAs are so important that Fabric provides a built-in CA component to
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allow you to create CAs in the blockchain networks you form. This component -- known
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as **fabric-ca** is private root CA provider capable of managing digital identities of
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as **fabric-ca** is a private root CA provider capable of managing digital identities of
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Fabric participants that have the form of X.509 certificates.
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Because Fabric-CA is a custom CA targetting the Root CA needs of Fabric,
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it is inherently not capable of providing SSL certificates for general/automatic use
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## Certificate Revocation Lists
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A Certificate Revocation List (CRL) is easy to understand -- it's just a list of
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certificates that a CA knows to be revoked for one reason or another. If you recall
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references to certificates that a CA knows to be revoked for one reason or another. If you recall
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the store scenario, a CRL would be like a list of stolen credit cards.
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When a third party wants to verify another party's identity, it first checks the
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issuing CA's CRL to make sure that the certificate has not been declared invalid.
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issuing CA's CRL to make sure that the certificate has not been revoked.
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A verifier doesn't have to check the CRL, but if they don't they run the risk of
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accepting a compromised identity.
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