Zusammenfassung
Purpose - To overview and discuss the technical, economical, legal, and social reasons why public key infrastructures (PKIs) have failed so far, summarizing the lessons learned, and giving expectations about the future development of the field. Design/methodology/approach - A detailed analysis of the developments in the PKI field, pointing out the achievements so far and the issues that still ...
Zusammenfassung
Purpose - To overview and discuss the technical, economical, legal, and social reasons why public key infrastructures (PKIs) have failed so far, summarizing the lessons learned, and giving expectations about the future development of the field. Design/methodology/approach - A detailed analysis of the developments in the PKI field, pointing out the achievements so far and the issues that still remain unsolved. Findings - The possible reasons for the failure of PKI technology. Originality/value - Identifies and analyses the problems of PKIs considering the different perspectives, i.e. not only the technical issues but also other issues like the economical, legal, and social issues that have also influenced the failure of PKIs.