Securing DNSSEC with Ritual and Ceremony - How Neo-Victorians Keep Out Cads and Bounders

Explore the social dynamics and ritualistic aspects of DNSSEC key signing ceremonies in this insightful conference talk from BSidesSF 2018. Delve into the crucial social factors that build and maintain a chain of trust in cryptographic operations, using Packet Clearing House's ceremonies as examples. Examine the process of selecting and vetting crypto officers, the formal and informal hierarchies among participants, and the separation of duties needed to secure the ceremony. Discover how informal networks facilitate coordination and social cohesion, governing trust distribution between human and non-human actors. Learn how highly ritualized ceremony behavior, guided by a meticulous script, transforms individual actions into social embodiments of trustworthiness in cryptographic operations. Gain valuable insights into the intersection of technology, security, and social dynamics in this thought-provoking presentation by Smiljana Antonijevic.