Re: OT: is it possible for an individual (not a business) to get a valid SSL certificate

["Wojtek Zlobicki" <wojtekz () idirect com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Mercer" <jim () reptiles org>
To: "Noah" <sitz () onastick net>
Cc: <nanog () merit edu>
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2001 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: OT: is it possible for an individual (not a business) to get a
valid SSL certificate


> On Thu, Jul 26, 2001 at 10:50:41AM -0400, Noah wrote:
> > On Thu, 26 Jul 2001, Jim Mercer wrote:
> > > i want to get a useful SSL certificate for my personal webserver.
> > > (and have customers who would like to do so as well).
> > >
> > > i've talked to cibc.com/verisign, the canadian verisign affiliate, and
they
> > > tell me they can only do certificates for registered businesses.
> >
> > You may want to give equifax a shot (http://www.equifaxsecure.com/).
They
> > have a "Non-Government Organization" category, which requires letterhead
> > from the CEO of the company confirming proof of right. They also have
the
> > mondo-spiffy wildcard caertificates (cert works for *.domain.dom).
>
> while it would be trivial for me to go out and register "Jim Mercer &
Company"
> as a proprietorship ($50 CDN registration fee for 5 years i think), i fail
> to see why this is necessary.
>
> a person is a business, in that it is a taxable entity, can incur debt,
etc,
> etc, etc.
>
> should a copy of my passport not suffice?
>
> as a follow-up, i eventually ended up talking to the Toronto office of
Thawte,
> and they will accept:
>
> - passport/drivers license
> - bank statement, tax roll notice or other paper showing address and
>    "existence"
> - paper letter from the admin contact of the domain deeming the individual
>      as responsible for the SSL certificate (if the individual's name does
>      not appear as the "owner" of the domain).
>
> after some discussion, it was agreed that a passport would double both as
> verification of ID, as well as certification of recognition by an outside
> entity (ie. the government).
>
> as such, i can likely get an SSL certificate with just my passport,
drivers
> license (as a secondary piece of documentation) and a letter deeming me as
> responsible for the domainname (as my name does not actually exist as the
> registrant, but i am the admin contact).
>
> > There's also www.freessl.com, but their cert only works with IE5.01 or
> > better.
>
> is netscape going to add them as a default as well?
>
> --
> [ Jim Mercer        jim () reptiles org         +1 416 410-5633 ]
> [ Now with more and longer words for your reading enjoyment. ]