--Editor: Teus Hagen
-Creation date: 2008-05-30
-Last change by: Iang
-Last change date: 2009-01-08
-Status: POLICY p20090105.2 -
-
-Editor: Teus Hagen
-Creation date: 2008-05-30
-Last change by: Iang
-Last change date: 2009-01-08
-Status: POLICY p20090105.2
-
-In face-to-face meetings, -an Assurer allocates a number of Assurance Points -to the Member being Assured. -CAcert combines the Assurance Points -into a global Web-of-Trust (or "WoT"). -
--CAcert explicitly chooses to meet its various goals by -construction of a Web-of-Trust of all Members. -
- --Documentation on Assurance is split between this -Assurance Policy (AP) and the -Assurance -Handbook. The policy is controlled by Configuration Control -Specification -(CCS) -under Policy on Policy -(PoP) -policy document regime. Because Assurance is an active area, much -of the practice is handed over to the Assurance Handbook, which is -not a controlled policy document, and can more easily respond to -experience and circumstances. It is also more readable. -
--See also Organisation Assurance Policy (OAP) -and CAcert Policy Statement (CPS). -
- -The purpose of Assurance is to add confidence -in the Assurance Statement made by the CAcert Community of a Member.
-With sufficient assurances, a Member may: (a) issue certificates -with their assured Name included, (b) participate in assuring others, -and (c) other related activities. The strength of these activities is -based on the strength of the assurance.
- --The Assurance Statement makes the following claims -about a person: -
-The person is a bona fide Member. In other words, the -person is a member of the CAcert Community as defined by the CAcert -Community Agreement (CCA);
-The Member has a (login) account with CAcert's on-line -registration and service system;
-The Member can be determined from any CAcert certificate -issued by the Account;
-The Member is bound into CAcert's Arbitration as defined -by the CAcert Community Agreement;
-Some personal details of the Member are known to CAcert: -the individual Name(s), primary and other listed individual email -address(es), secondary distinguishing feature (e.g. DoB).
-The confidence level of the Assurance Statement is expressed by -the Assurance Points.
-The primary goal of the Assurance Statement is for the express -purpose of certificates to meet the needs of the Relying Party -Statement, which latter is found in the Certification Practice -Statement (CPS). -
-When a certificate is issued, some of the Assurance Statement may -be incorporated, e.g. Name. Other parts may be implied, e.g. -Membership, exact account and status. They all are part of the -Relying Party Statement. In short, this means that other -Members of the Community may rely on the information verified by -Assurance and found in the certificate.
-In particular, certificates are sometimes considered to provide -reliable indications of e.g. the Member's Name and email address. The -nature of Assurance, the number of Assurance Points, and other -policies and processes should be understood as limitations on any -reliance.
--At least one individual Name is recorded in the Member's -CAcert login account. The general standard of a Name is: -
--The Name should be recorded as written in a -government-issued photo identity document (ID). -
--The Name should be recorded as completely as possible. -That is, including all middle names, any titles and extensions, -without abbreviations, and without transliteration of characters. -
-The Name is recorded as a string of characters, -encoded in unicode -transformation format.
--In order to handle the contradictions in the above general standard, -a Member may record multiple Names or multiple variations of a Name -in her CAcert online Account. -Examples of variations include married names, -variations of initials of first or middle names, -abbreviations of a first name, -different language or country variations, -and transliterations of characters in a name. -
- --A Name which has reached -the level of 50 Assurance Points is defined as an Assured -Name. An Assured Name can be used in a certificate issued by CAcert. -A Member with at least one Assured Name has reached the Assured -Member status. -Additional capabilities are described in Table 1. -
- --- - -Table 1: -Assurance Capability
-- -
-- -- -Minimum Assurance Points
-- -Capability
-- -Status
-- -Comment
-- -- -0
-- -Request Assurance
-- -Prospective Member
-- -Individual taking part of an -Assurance, who does not have created a CAcert login account (yet). The -allocation of Assurance Points is awaiting login account creation.
-- -- -0
-- -Request unnamed certificates
-- -Member
-- -Although the Member's details are -recorded in the account, they are not highly assured.
-- -- -50
-- -Request named certificates
-- -Assured Member
-- -Statements of Assurance: the Name is -assured to 50 Assurance Points or more
-- - -- -100
-- -Become an Assurer
-- -Prospective Assurer
-- -Assured to 100 Assurance Points (or -more) on at least one Name, and passing the Assurer Challenge.
-
-A Member may check the status of another Member, especially -for an assurance process. -Status may be implied from information in a certificate. -The number of Assurance Points for each Member is not published. -
- --The CAcert Policy Statement -(CPS) -and other policies may list other capabilities that rely on Assurance -Points. -
- -An Assurer is a Member with the following:
-Is assured to a minimum of 100 Assurance Points;
-Has passed the CAcert Assurer Challenge.
-The Assurer Challenge is administered by the Education Team on -behalf of the Assurance Officer.
-The Assurer is obliged to:
-Follow this Assurance Policy;
-Follow any additional rules of detail laid out by the -CAcert Assurance Officer;
-Be guided by the CAcert Assurance Handbook in their -judgement;
-Make a good faith effort at identifying and verifying -Members;
-Maintain the documentation on each Assurance;
-Deliver documentation to Arbitration, or as otherwise -directed by the Arbitrator;
-Keep up-to-date with developments within the CAcert -Community.
-The Assurer conducts the process of Assurance with each -Member.
-The process consists of:
-Voluntary agreement by both Assurer and Member or -Prospective Member to conduct the Assurance;
-Personal meeting of Assurer and Member or Prospective -Member;
-Recording of essential details on CAcert Assurance -Programme form;
-Examination of Identity documents by Assurer and -verification of recorded details (the Name(s) and Secondary -Distinguishing Feature, e.g., DoB);
-Allocation of Assurance Points by Assurer;
-Optional: supervision of reciprocal Assurance made by -Assuree (Mutual Assurance);
-Safekeeping of the CAcert Assurance Programme (CAP) -forms by Assurer.
-Mutual Assurance follows the principle of reciprocity. This -means -that the Assurance may be two-way, and that each member participating -in the Assurance procedure should be able to show evidence of their -identity to the other.
-In the event that an Assurer is assured by a Member who is not -certified as an Assurer, the Assurer supervises the Assurance -procedure and process, and is responsible for the results.
-Reciprocity maintains a balance between the (new) member and -the -Assurer, and reduces any sense of power. It is also an important aid -to the assurance training for future Assurers.
- -The Assurance applies Assurance Points to each Member which -measure the increase of confidence in the Statement (above). -Assurance Points should not be interpreted for any other purpose. -Note that, even though they are sometimes referred to as Web-of-Trust -(Assurance) Points, or Trust Points, the meaning -of the word -'Trust' is not well defined.
-Assurance Points Allocation
-An Assurer can allocate a
-number of Assurance Points to the Member according to the Assurer's
-experience (Experience Point system, see below). The allocation of
-the maximum means that the Assurer is 100% confident in the
-information presented:
Detail on form, system, documents, person in accordance;
-Sufficient quality identity documents have been checked;
-Assurer's familiarity with identity documents;
-The Assurance Statement is confirmed.
--Any lesser confidence should result in less Assurance Points for a -Name. If the Assurer has no confidence in the information presented, -then zero Assurance Points may be allocated by the Assurer. -For example, this may happen if the identity documents are totally -unfamiliar to the Assurer. The number of Assurance Points from zero -to maximum is guided by the Assurance Handbook -and the judgement of the Assurer. -If there is negative confidence the Assurer should consider -filing a dispute. -
-Multiple Names should be allocated Assurance Points -independently within a single Assurance.
--A Member who is not an Assurer may award an Assurer in a -reciprocal process a maximum of 2 Assurance Points, according to -her judgement. The Assurer should strive to have the Member allocate -according to the Member's judgement, and stay on the cautious side; -the Member new to the assurance process -should allocate zero Assurance Points -until she gains some confidence in what is happening. -
--In general, for a Member to reach 50 Assurance Points, the Member must -have participated in at least two assurances, and -at least one Name will have been assured to that level. -
--To reach 100 Assurance -Points, at least one Name of the Assured Member must have been -assured at least three times. -
--The maximum number of Assurance -Points which can be allocated for an Assurance under this policy -and under any act under any -Subsidiary Policy (below) is 50 Assurance Points. -
- -The maximum number of Assurance Points that may be awarded by -an -Assurer is determined by the Experience Points of the Assurer.
---Table 2: -Maximum of Assurance Points -
-- -
-- -- -Assurer's Experience Points
-- -Allocatable Assurance Points
-- -- -0
-- -10
-- -- -10
-- -15
-- -- -20
-- -20
-- -- -30
-- -25
-- -- -40
-- -30
-- - -- ->=50
-- -35
-
An Assurer is given a maximum of 2 Experience Points for every -completed Assurance. On reaching Assurer status, the Experience -Points start at 0 (zero).
-Less Experience Points (1) may be given for mass Assurance -events, -where each Assurance is quicker.
-Additional Experience Points may be granted temporarily or -permanently to an Assurer by CAcert Inc.'s Committee (board), on -recommendation from the Assurance Officer.
-Experience Points are not to be confused with Assurance -Points.
-The CAcert Assurance Programme (CAP) -form requests the following details of each Member or Prospective -Member:
-Name(s), as recorded in the on-line account;
-Primary email address, as recorded in the on-line account; -
-Secondary Distinguishing Feature, as recorded in the -on-line account (normally, date of birth);
-Statement of agreement with the CAcert Community -Agreement;
-Permission to the Assurer to conduct the Assurance -(required for privacy reasons);
-Date and signature of the Assuree.
-The CAP form requests the following details of the Assurer:
-At least one Name as recorded in the on-line account of -the Assurer;
-Assurance Points for each Name in the identity -document(s);
-Statement of Assurance;
-Optional: If the Assurance is reciprocal, then the -Assurer's email address and Secondary Distinguishing Feature are -required as well;
-Date, location of Assurance and signature of Assurer.
-The CAP forms are to be kept at least for 7 years by the -Assurer.
-The Committee (board) of CAcert Inc. appoints an Assurance -Officer -with the following responsibilities:
-Reporting to the Committee and advising on all matters to -do with Assurance;
-Training and testing of Assurers, in association with the -Education Team;
-Updating this Assurance Policy, under the process -established by Policy on Policy (PoP);
-Management of all Subsidiary Policies (see below) for -Assurances, under Policy on Policy;
-Managing and creating rules of detail or procedure where -inappropriate for policies;
-Incorporating rulings from Arbitration into policies, -procedures or guidelines;
-Assisting the Arbitrator in any requests;
-Managing the Assurer Handbook;
-Maintaining a sufficient strength in the Assurance process -(web-of-trust) to meet the agreed needs of the Community.
-The Assurance Officer manages various exceptions and additional -processes. Each must be covered by an approved Subsidiary Policy -(refer to Policy on Policy => CAcert Official Document COD1). -Subsidiary Policies specify any additional tests of knowledge -required and variations to process and documentation, within the -general standard stated here.
-Each Subsidiary Policy must augment and improve the general -standards in this Assurance Policy. It is the responsibility of each -Subsidiary Policy to describe how it maintains and improves the -specific and overall goals. It must describe exceptions and potential -areas of risk.
- -In addition to the Assurance or Experience Points ratings set -here and in other subsidiary policies, the Assurance Officer or policies can -designate certain applications as high risk. If so, additional -measures may be added to the Assurance process that specifically -address the risks.
-Additional measures may include: -
-Additional information can be required in process of assurance:
-Additional Information is to be kept by Assurer, attached to -CAcert Assurance Programme (CAP) -form. Assurance Points allocation by this assurance is unchanged. -User's CAcert login account should be annotated to record type of -additional information;
-Arbitration:
-Additional training;
-Member to be Assurer (at least 100 Assurance Points and -passed Assurer Challenge);
-Member agrees to additional specific agreement(s);
-Additional checking/auditing of systems data by CAcert -support administrators.
-Applications that might attract additional measures include -code-signing certificates and administration roles.
-CAcert is a "privacy" organisation, and takes the -privacy of its Members seriously. The process maintains the security -and privacy of both parties.
-Information is collected primarily to make claims within the -certificates requested by users and to contact the Members. It is -used secondarily for training, testing, administration and other -internal purposes.
-The Member's information can be accessed under these -circumstances:
-Under Arbitrator ruling, in a duly filed dispute (Dispute Resolution Policy -=> COD7);
-An Assurer in the process of an Assurance, as permitted on -the CAcert Assurance Programme (CAP) -form;
-CAcert support administration and CAcert systems -administration when operating under the authority of Arbitrator or -under CAcert policy.
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