4

(inspired by How do you tell a website they have expired security certificates? )

Why don't major browsers trust the US Treasury PKI certificate authority by default? I know that the government isn't necessarily trustworthy, but surely they're at least as trustworthy as 'GoDaddy.com'. Are there technical or systemic deficiencies in the US government's granting of certs or is this based on something else?

Improve this question
2
  • I would assume that people outside the US are more inclined to trust GoDaddy than to trust the US Treasury, me included... But Steffen gave the accurate answer anyway :)
    – MiaoHatola
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 8:57
  • 1
    @MiaoHatola I'm not saying the US treasury is great, I'm just saying at least they're not these guys. But fair enough :)
    – Please stop being evil
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 18:26

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

It is not that the browsers are unwilling to include this PKI. But they will only include a PKI which gets regular audits and fully conforms to the rules of the CAB browser forum. Acording to this bug inclusion process in the Mozilla trust store (i.e. Firefox) was started 8 years ago and is still an ongoing process. For all the details see the bug itself.

Improve this answer
8
  • Oh my goodness. I knew the process was slow but... D: I think that bug showcases how long a bureaucracy running into another bureaucracy can really take.
    – Please stop being evil
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 5:45
  • Don't worry...it's not that relevant and soon things may drastically change.
    – Overmind
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 6:25
  • 1
    @Overmind #MakeCAsGreatAgain?
    – architekt
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 9:05
  • I think there will be another approach, but one thing is for sure: the green browser icon has been abused a lot and something will definitely change.
    – Overmind
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 9:10
  • 1
    @Overmind: I don't think that this is the appropriate place for vague speculations. If you have real details about a replacement which will definitely come in the next years then provide a link to it instead of just claiming that soon things may drastically change without providing any details.
    – Steffen Ullrich
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 9:58

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .