Utilizing Social Networking Platforms to Support Public Key Infrastructures

Although public key infrastructures (PKI) exist for quite a while already, neither hierarchical PKI based on Certification Authorities (CA) nor decentralized webs-of-trust have come to great popularity, particularly not in the private sector. In this paper we want to analyze some reasons for this development and propose possible solutions. The utilization of social networking platforms which have become popular by the so-called ”web 2.0”, may bridge the gap between webs-of-trust and social networks. Thus, the web-of-trust structure may also become more popular and more widely spread due to the better usability this combination provides. For example, key exchange and authentication of the key owners’ identities can be supported by extended means of social networking platforms.