A Robust and Efficient Mechanism to Distribute Certificate Revocation Information Using the Grid Monitoring Architecture

Checking revocation information is necessary to prevent from using digital certificates whose contents become invalid. In current system either periodical retrieval of Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) or the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) are the most common mechanisms to access revocation information issued by the certification authorities. As both these approaches pose problems we propose a new method based on a Push model, which is based on the Grid Monitoring Architecture. Using this approach we guarantee the revocation information is distributed in a robust and timely manner. We also describe a pilot implementation of the service based on the proposed design.