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Key Pairs

🙈Deprecated

This section will soon be replaced with our new namakemono data type which is similar, but cooler.

🌩️Requirement KY1

Clients MUST use Ed25519 as the Digital Signature Algorithm for Bamboo.

  • A key pair is used to sign Bamboo entries and their payloads.
  • The public key of a key pair is embedded in Bamboo entries and therefore always available when verifying an entry and its payload.

Usage​

  • p2panda clients create key pairs for their users.
  • Data recipients can identify the author of data from the public key and the signature on a Bamboo entry
    • The public key and signature are distributed alongside the data.
  • Data recipients can verify the integrity of data using the signature on Bamboo entries.

Key Management​

🌩️Requirement KY2

p2panda clients SHOULD generate a new key pair for every new usage context. The boundaries of a usage context are defined by 1) device storage, 2) software distribution and 3) trust.

  • This lowers the chance of producing a fork in a Bamboo log.
    • A Bamboo log has a fork when two entries with the same sequence number exist in it.
🌩️Requirement KY3

p2panda clients SHOULD ensure that private keys cannot be read by adversaries.

🌩️Requirement KY4

p2panda clients SHOULD NOT require the transmission of a private key outside a usage context.

  • Transmitting a private key outside of its usage context might be attractive e.g. to migrate a software installation but it is considered a security risk, can lead to forks and hard to get right in terms of user experience.
  • To migrate data clients should rather make use of p2panda Key Groups, by transferring the permissions to a new key pair instead of migrating the old key pair itself