Editing Key signing party

{{Short description|Event where people sign each other's PGP key}}
{{More references|date=March 2015}}
[[Image:FOSDEM 2008 Key signing party.jpg|thumb|Key signing at [[FOSDEM]] 2008.]]
In [[public-key cryptography]], a '''key signing party''' is an event at which people present their public [[key (cryptography)|key]]s to others in person, who, if they are confident the key actually belongs to the person who claims it, [[digital signature|digitally sign]] the [[certificate (cryptography)|certificate]] containing that [[public key cryptography|public key]] and the person's name, etc.<ref>The Keysigning Party HOWTO https://www.cryptnet.net/fdp/crypto/keysigning_party/en/keysigning_party.html</ref>  Key signing parties are common within the [[Pretty Good Privacy|PGP]] and [[GNU Privacy Guard]] community, as the PGP public key infrastructure does not depend on a central key certifying authority and instead uses a distributed [[web of trust]] approach. Key signing parties are a way to strengthen the [[web of trust]]. Participants at a key signing party are expected to present adequate [[identity document]]s.<ref>Section §2.1 of NIST Special Publication 800-57 Part 3
Revision 1
Recommendation for
Key Management http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-57pt3r1</ref>

Although PGP keys are generally used with [[personal computer]]s for [[Internet]]-related applications, key signing parties themselves generally do not involve computers, since that would give adversaries increased opportunities for subterfuge. Rather, participants write down a string of letters and numbers, called a ''[[public key fingerprint]]'', which represents their key. The fingerprint is created by a [[cryptographic hash function]], which condenses the public key down to a string which is shorter and more manageable. Participants exchange these fingerprints as they verify each other's identification. Then, after the party, they obtain the public keys corresponding to the fingerprints they received and [[Digital signature|digitally sign]] them.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Zhao|first1=Tieyu|last2=Ran|first2=Qiwen|last3=Yuan|first3=Lin|last4=Chi|first4=Yingying|last5=Ma|first5=Jing|date=2015-09-01|title=Image encryption using fingerprint as key based on phase retrieval algorithm and public key cryptography|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014381661500072X|journal=Optics and Lasers in Engineering|language=en|volume=72|pages=12–17|doi=10.1016/j.optlaseng.2015.03.024|bibcode=2015OptLE..72...12Z |issn=0143-8166|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Zimmermann–Sassaman key-signing protocol]]
*[[Web of trust]]
*[[CryptoParty]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.phildev.net/pius/ Pius]: Sign entire keyrings and send encrypted emails automatically
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090720040910/http://www.cryptnet.net/fdp/crypto/keysigning_party/en/keysigning_party.html#overview Keysigning Party Howto]
* [http://www.biglumber.com Biglumber] – Keysigning coordination website
* [https://wiki.debian.org/Keysigning Debian wiki: Keysigning] – practical guidance from Debian developers

[[Category:Key management]]
[[Category:OpenPGP]]

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