Migration of Signing Algorithms : An investigation in migration of signing algorithms used in certificate authorities.

Abstract: The migration of signing algorithms is a process which can be used to move from signing algorithms which are regarded as less safe to algorithms which are regarded as safer. The safety of cryptographic algorithms has been compromised before, algorithms such as SHA-1 has been proven to be broken. The goal of this study was to find criteria that could define a successful migration as well as evaluating a method to perform a migration. The criteria were found by evaluating related works found in an RFC document as well as in a Springer conference paper. The criteria that was found was the following: backwards compatibility, no downtime, no need for mass revocation, no need for strict scheduling and no extra overhead. The evaluated method utilized a construct called a multiple key certificate; it was chosen because it conformed to most of the found criteria. The multiple key certificate utilized two different key pairs, one generated from a conventional algorithm and the other using an alternative algorithm, it also conformed to the x.509 standard. The alternative algorithm could be chosen to be a post quantum algorithm. The prototype was tested for time overhead, memory overhead and backward compatibility. The results of testing to sign and verify 10 000 certificates as well as examining the file size of the certificate showed that the choice of alternative algorithm heavily affects the time overhead of the prototype certificate. The multiple key certificate also proved to be backwards compatible with widely used applications. This solution has proven itself to act in accordance to all the newly established criterion except for the criterion regarding overhead however, alternative algorithms could be strategically chosen to minimize overhead. The multiple key certificate seems to be a successful way to migrate signing algorithms.