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Size: 2249
Comment: Initial, trying to capture arguments.
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Size: 2617
Comment: Ability of Gnupg added.
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| When creating a new certificate, there is a choice of how long to select the size of the private key. | = Large keys |
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| As of October 2014 the **default of ~GnuPG** is to use RSA with a length 2048bit. This is the recommendation because the ~GnuPG Initiative believe this serves most users best. |
When generating a new key pair, you have to choose how large the private key should be. |
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| There is an ongoing debate about what the future default length should be and what sizes should be supported. You will find it on gnupg-users. |
As of October 2014, **~GnuPG's default** is to use 2048 bit RSA keys. This recommendation will serve most users best. Please also refer to the [[https://www.gnupg.org/faq/gnupg-faq.html#default_rsa2048|FAQs on keysize]]. |
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| Note that Werner Koch, the principle author of ~GnuPG recommends to not use private keysizes larger than 4 Kibibyte, he believes 8 KiB to be a practical upper limit that ~GnuPG should technically support. E.g. see his statement in [[https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=739424#30|Debian Issue739424 ]] |
There is an ongoing debate on the gnupg-users mailing list about what the future default length should be and what sizes should be supported. Note that the principle author of ~GnuPG, **Werner Koch recommends to not use private keys larger than 4 KiB**. He believes 8 KiB to be a practical upper limit that ~GnuPG should technically support. See, for instance, his statement in [[https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=739424#30|Debian Issue739424]]. Since version 2.0.27 and 1.4.19 GnuPG can be compiled with {{{--enable-large-secmem}}} to offer a {{{--enable-large-rsa}}} option that can create keys up to 8 KiB. Some elder versions supported creating of keys up to 16 KiB. |
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| * ~GnuPG needs to ensure (somewhat) secure memory, because of ~DDOS attacks there must be a limit on supported keysizes. * With larger private keysizes there are drawbacks in performance, especially on small systems (think drained battery). This lead to a less usable and thus |
* ~GnuPG needs to ensure (somewhat) secure memory, because of ~DDoS attacks there must be a limit on supported keysizes. * With larger private keysizes there are drawbacks in performance, especially on small systems (such as, a drained battery). This lead to a less usable and thus |
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| * While larger keys my provide some more security against breaking the RSA encryption math, it can only be estimated how much extra security more bits provide. As most mathemathical threats do not come by brute force, it is unclear how much more protection very large keys can provide. * There are sending implementations of ~OpenPGP that only support a certain upper limit (e.g. OpenPGP cards are known to go to 3 KiB or 4 KiB in some versions. ~GnuPG 1.4.18 cannot use ~>= 5KiB keys anymore). * There may be receiving implementation of ~OpenPGP that only support a certain upper limit of key size. * With keysizes as larger as 2 KiB today, it is extremely likely that there are many other weaker spots in your security. If you are about security, it would be rational to deal with these weaknesses first before you consider raising the key sizes. The weaker spots are likely to be vulnerabilities in your computing environment, in your procedures to verify certificates, in the implementation of ~OpenPGP you are using. |
* While larger keys may provide some more security against breaking the RSA encryption math, it can only be estimated how much extra security more bits provide. As most mathematical threats do not come by brute force, it is unclear how much more protection very large keys can provide. * Sending side of communication: There are ~OpenPGP implementations that only encrypt or sign up to a certain upper limit (e.g. OpenPGP cards are known to go to 3 KiB or 4 KiB in some versions. ~GnuPG 1.4.18 cannot use ~>= 5KiB keys anymore). * Receiving side of communication: There may be ~OpenPGP implementations that only decrypt or verify up to a certain upper limit of key size. * With keysizes larger than 2 KiB today (October 2014), it is extremely likely that there are many other weaker spots in your security. If you care about security, it is rational to deal with these weaknesses first before you consider raising the key sizes. The weaker spots are likely to be vulnerabilities in your computing environment, in the implementation of ~OpenPGP you are using and in your procedures to verify certificates. |
Large keys
When generating a new key pair, you have to choose how large the private key should be.
As of October 2014, GnuPG's default is to use 2048 bit RSA keys. This recommendation will serve most users best. Please also refer to the FAQs on keysize.
There is an ongoing debate on the gnupg-users mailing list about what the future default length should be and what sizes should be supported.
Note that the principle author of GnuPG, Werner Koch recommends to not use private keys larger than 4 KiB. He believes 8 KiB to be a practical upper limit that GnuPG should technically support. See, for instance, his statement in Debian Issue739424. Since version 2.0.27 and 1.4.19 GnuPG can be compiled with --enable-large-secmem to offer a --enable-large-rsa option that can create keys up to 8 KiB. Some elder versions supported creating of keys up to 16 KiB.
The main arguments (TODO) are:
- GnuPG needs to ensure (somewhat) secure memory, because of DDoS attacks there must be a limit on supported keysizes.
- With larger private keysizes there are drawbacks in performance, especially on small systems (such as, a drained battery). This lead to a less usable and thus also slightly less secure system (through the "threat" that crypto is less often used because of the inconvenience of time and battery it takes to use it).
- While larger keys may provide some more security against breaking the RSA encryption math, it can only be estimated how much extra security more bits provide. As most mathematical threats do not come by brute force, it is unclear how much more protection very large keys can provide.
- Sending side of communication: There are OpenPGP implementations that only encrypt or sign up to a certain upper limit (e.g. OpenPGP cards are known to go to 3 KiB or 4 KiB in some versions. GnuPG 1.4.18 cannot use >= 5KiB keys anymore).
- Receiving side of communication: There may be OpenPGP implementations that only decrypt or verify up to a certain upper limit of key size.
- With keysizes larger than 2 KiB today (October 2014), it is extremely likely that there are many other weaker spots in your security. If you care about security, it is rational to deal with these weaknesses first before you consider raising the key sizes. The weaker spots are likely to be vulnerabilities in your computing environment, in the implementation of OpenPGP you are using and in your procedures to verify certificates.