scope:

The present document describes the problem arising from pervasive encrypted traffic in electronic/digital communications networks. The present document identifies the impact of encrypted traffic on a number of stakeholders and how the stakeholders' objectives work together. The characterization of traffic as either user generated content, user generated signalling, network signalling, and metadata, and the relative impact on stakeholders is considered. The present document also considers the role of compliance obligations on the development and deployment of encrypted traffic and how it impacts different stakeholders.

The purpose of the present document is to consider the impact of pervasive encryption on stakeholders, and to assist future standards development activity in mitigating the negative impact on stakeholders whilst not adversely impacting the positive impacts of such a paradigm on stakeholders, including the regulatory and lawful dimensions.

The present document is structured as follows:

• Clause 4 outlines the role of encryption as it is being applied to networks from a mainly business perspective.

• Clause 5 outlines the problem from a primarily technical perspective.

• Clause 6 reviews some aspects of the integration of pervasive encryption to protocols in networks.

• Annex A provides a summary of the impact of pervasive encryption on various formal compliance obligations.

• Annex B gives an overview of the various common approaches to provide encryption in networks.

• Annex C offers a number of examples on the impact of pervasive encryption.

The present document is a report into the scope and scale of pervasive encryption in electronic/digital communications networks and the intended readership is all stakeholders. The document structure is intended to guide different readers to appropriate content.