1. INTRODUCTION

 

1.1. Overview

 

This document follows the structure suggested in RFC 2527. General Mills’ Public Key Infrastructure usage is designed exclusively for the use of General Mill’s employees and business partners.   Only supported corporate applications can be used with General Mills certificates. No other use is permitted or implied. 

 

1.2. Identification

 

Company

   General Mills

Applications

   All approved policies applied to OID:  1.3.6.1.4.1.5750

Document Title

   General Mills Public Key Infrastructure Certificate Policy

Document Version

   Revision: 2.0

Document Date

   Date: 02/21/2004

 

1.3. Community and Applicability

 

This document describes the policies and operation of an infrastructure which will be termed the ‘‘General Mills Public Key Infrastructure.’’ This infrastructure assumes the use of X.509 version 3 certificates and complies with this format. 

 

1.4. Contact Details

 

The General Mills Public Key Infrastructure is established, maintained and operated by the General Mills Operations Department. The contact person for this document is the General Mills Information Systems Security Manager.

 

Bob Svendsen

General Mills

1 General Mills Blvd

Minneapolis , MN 55426

USA

Phone: +1 763 764 2490

Fax: +1 763 764 2490

Email: bob.svendsen@generalmills.com

 

2. GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

2.1. Obligations

 

2.1.1. CA Obligations

 

The General Mills Public Key Infrastructure will

 

·         Accept service certificate requests and revocation requests from General Mills authorized system and application maintainers; notify such requesters of issued and revoked certificates.

·         Accept authenticated requests for computer or user certificates from General Mills employees and approved business partners.

·         Publish CRLs in a timely manner and in well-known locations.

·         Protect and, when necessary or prudent, replace CA private keys.

 

2.1.2. Registration Authority (RA) Obligations

 

RAs are not involved in the handling or verification of cryptographic keys. They are responsible only for verifying the identities and roles of users and business partners.  The issuing and validation of appropriate certificates will only be completed after proper authenticate and authorization.

 

2.1.3. Subscriber Obligations

 

Subscribers must

·         Make only accurate representations in requests for certificates.

·         Exercise all reasonable care in protecting the private keys corresponding to their certificates, including but not limited to never storing them on a networked file system or otherwise transmitting them over a network.

·         Ensure that the private keys corresponding to their issued service certificates are stored in a manner that minimizes the risk of exposure.

·         Observe restrictions on private key and certificate use.

·         Promptly notify the CA operators of any incident involving a possibility of exposure of a private key.

 

2.1.4. Relying Party Obligations

Relying parties must

·         Be cognizant of the provisions of this document.

·         Verify any self-signed certificates to their own satisfaction using out-of-band means.

·         Accept responsibility for checking any relevant CRLs before accepting the validity of a certificate.

·         Observe restrictions on private key and certificate use.

·         Not presume any authorization of an end entity based on possession of a certificate from the General Mills Public Key Infrastructure or its corresponding private key.

 

2.2. Liability

 

The General Mills Public Key Infrastructure is operated substantially in accordance with General Mills’ own risk analysis. No liability, explicit or implicit, is accepted. The General Mills Public Key Infrastructure and its agents make no guarantee about the security or suitability of a service that is identified by a General Mills certificate. The certification service is run with a reasonable level of security, but it is provided on a best effort only basis. It does not warrant its procedures and it will take no responsibility for problems arising from its operation, or for the use made of the certificates it provides. The General Mills Public Key Infrastructure denies any financial or any other kind of responsibility for damages or impairments resulting from its operation.

 

2.3. Financial Responsibility

 

No financial responsibility is accepted.

 

2.4. Interpretation and Enforcement

 

This policy is subordinate to all applicable U.S. government laws.

 

2.5. Fees

 

No fees are charged.

 

2.6. Publication and Repositories

 

2.6.1. Publication of CA information

 

The General Mills Public Key Infrastructure will operate an online repository that contains

·         General Mills CA certificates.

·         Certificate Revocation Lists for General Mills CA hierarchy

·         A copy of this policy.

·         Other information deemed relevant to the General Mills Public Key Infrastructure.

 

Repository:  http://certificates.generalmills.com/certdata/

 

Publications: the CRL repository with CRLs in DER  format on:

http://certificates.generalmills.com/certdata/General%20Mills%20Root%20CA.crl

http://certificates.generalmills.com/certdata/General%20Mills%20NA%20Policy%20CA%201.crl

http://certificates.generalmills.com/certdata/General%20Mills%20NA%20Issuing%20CA%201.crl

http://certificates.generalmills.com/certdata/General%20Mills%20NA%20Issuing%20CA%202.crl

http://certificates.generalmills.com/certdata/General%20Mills%20NA%20Issuing%20CA%203.crl       

 

2.6.2. Frequency of Publication

·         CA certificates will be published in the repository as soon as they are issued.

·         CRLs will be published as soon as they are updated, or when deemed appropriate.

·         Public General Mills Public Key Infrastructure documents will be published in the repository as they are approved.

 

2.6.3. Access Controls

 

The CA publication repository is always available, outside of maintenance times and unforeseen failures. The General Mills Public Key Infrastructure imposes no restrictions on the accessibility of published information.

 

2.6.4. Repository Location

 

http://www.generalmills.com/certificate/certpolicy.doc

 

2.7. Compliance Audit

 

General Mills reserves the rights to be audited by an outside party.  Certifying, cross-certifying, and relying organizations may request a review of General Mills Public Key Infrastructure operation.

 

2.8. Confidentiality Policy

 

The General Mills Public Key Infrastructure may have access to subscribers’ private keys. It considers the contents of CRLs and certificates, including subscribers’ names and General Mills userids, to be public information. For identification of authorized users, it may rely on other organizations within General Mills which may have private information.   If so, the General Mills Public Key Infrastructure does not obtain or store copies of such private information.

 

2.9. Intellectual Property Rights

 

The General Mills Public Key Infrastructure asserts no ownership rights in certificates issued to subscribers. No claims are made regarding documents produced by the General Mills CA.  Acknowledgment is hereby given to the CERN Certification Authority for the form and content of parts of this document.

 

3. IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION

 

3.1. Initial Registration

 

3.1.1. Types of Names

 

Subject distinguished names are X.500 names, with components varying depending on the type of certificate.   

The certificates name structure may include one or more of the following:

·         Logon Account Name

 

·         DNS Name

·         Email Name

·         User Principal Name (UPN)

·         Service Principal Name (SPN)

 

Certificates issued by General Mills Public Key Infrastructure architecture will end in one of the following formats:

·         Genmills.com

·         DC=Genmills, DC=com

 

3.1.2. Name Meanings

 

·         If the certificate is a machine (host) certificate the CN is named as the DNS name for the machine defined in the DNS.

·         If the certificate is a personal certificate the CN is named as the logon account name of the person (entity) defined in our enterprise directory database.   

 

3.1.3. Name Interpretation

 

Format used is X.500 directory names. RFC 1562

 

3.1.4. Name Uniqueness

 

Each subject name certified by the General Mills Public Key Infrastructure will be unique.

 

3.1.5. Name Disputes

 

The General Mills Public Key Infrastructure will resolve disputes as it sees fit.

 

3.1.6. Method to Prove Possession of Private Key

 

No stipulation.

 

3.1.7. Authentication of Individual Identity

 

User identity will be authenticated by the RA using the strongest means of authentication available to both client and machine.  Requests for certificates must come from a valid General Mills User or business partner and will be checked against an enterprise directory database.

 

3.2. Rekeying (Authentication for Routine Renewal of Certificates)

 

Online renewal request shall be signed by the Subscriber's valid private key. It is then received and reviewed by the RA.  The process may include automatic or manual renewal.  The renewal request is signed by a General Mills CA and returned to client via the appropriate RA.

3.3    Rekey after Revocation

 

Rekey after revocation is the same as initial request. (see 3.2)

 

3.4    Revocation Request

 

Revocation request must be formally submitted via written or electronic means to General Mills Information Security group.  The request must include specified reason for revocation of issued certificate.

 

 

4. OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

 

4.1. Certificate Application

 

Once authentication has been validated, users may apply for computer or user certificates from the RA. A system or  application may request service certificates by signing a request conforming to General Mills Public Key Infrastructure requirements and submitting to an appropriate RA.

 

4.2. Certificate Issuance

 

Internal users and computers certificates may be issued immediately upon successful authentication to the network.  External certificates will be issued after being reviewed by General Mills Information Systems Security Group.

 

4.3. Certificate Acceptance

 

No stipulation.

 

4.4. Certificate Suspension and Revocation

 

Certificates issued by the General Mills Public Key Infrastructure will be revoked when deemed appropriate, based on criteria set by General Mills Information Systems Security Group.

 

4.4.1. Circumstances for Revocation

 

Certificates will be revoked in any of the following circumstances

·         The private key is suspected or reported to be lost or exposed.

·         The information in the certificate is believed to be, or to have become inaccurate.

·         The certificate is reported to no longer be needed.

 

4.4.2. Requesting Revocation

 

System or application administrators may request revocation of a computer or user certificate, as can General Mills Information Systems Group personnel. The latter may also request revocation of a CA certificate.

 

4.4.3. Verifying Revocation Requests.

 

A revocation request signed with the private key of the affected certificate is always valid. Other revocation requests are subject to the same verification procedures as a corresponding certificate request.

 

4.4.4. CRL Issuance Frequency

 

CRLs for General Mills CAs will be issued based on appropriate policy.

 

4.4.5. Online Revocation/Status Checking Availability

 

The most recent CRL will be available online.

 

4.4.6. Revocation/Status Checking Requirements

 

Relying parties are advised to obtain and consult a valid CRL.

 

4.5. Security Audit Procedures

 

No stipulation.

 

4.6. Records Archival

 

No stipulation.

 

4.7. Key Changeover

 

The community of known relying parties will be notified of any new CA public key and it may then be obtained in the same manner as the previous CA certificates.

 

4.8. Compromise and Disaster Recovery

 

Disaster recovery procedures are in place based on appropriate internal policy.

 

4.9. CA Termination

 

No stipulation.

 

5. PHYSICAL, PROCEDURAL, AND PERSONNEL SECURITY CONTROLS

 

5.1. Physical Security Controls

 

General Mills CA Servers are a housed in a secure facility.  General Mills employs Hardware Security Modules (HSM) that are FIPS 140-2 level 3 compliant devices.  Servers within the Public Key Infrastructure hierarchy may remain off line for increased security.

 

5.2. Procedural Controls

 

General Mills employs smart card authentication for HSM technologies.

 

5.3. Personnel Security Controls

 

All persons with access to General Mills CA servers will be full-time General Mills employees.  General Mills manages key set n of m for role separation.

 

 

6. TECHNICAL SECURITY CONTROLS

 

6.1. Key Pair Generation and Installation

 

General Mills uses a sliding scale key size based on level within Public Key Infrastructure hierarchy. 

CA signature algorithm is SHA1.  Public key algorithm is RSA.

 

6.1.1. Private Key Generation

 

Key pair generation on the user’s local system ensures that only the user and no one else knows the private key. General Mills key pairs are generated in General Mills CA and kept in an encrypted store using HSMs.

 

6.1.2. Private Key Delivery to Entity

 

As the key pair is generated on the subscriber’s local system, hence the delivery of the private key is achieved in a secure manner on the subscriber’s system.

 

6.1.3. Public Key Delivery to Certificate Issuer

 

PKCS#10 construction is employed to deliver the public key to General Mills, thus ensuring against tampering and proving that the sender is in possession of the corresponding private key.  

 

6.1.4. CA Public Key Delivery to Users

 

Users public keys will be posted to enterprise directory database.

 

6.1.5. Key Sizes

 

General Mills CA key pair varies from 4096 bits to 2048 bits. Users and machines key pairs will range from 2048 bits to 1024 bits.

 

6.1.6. Key Usage

 

The General Mills Public Key Infrastructure does enforce key usage restrictions by any means of X.509v3 extensions in the certificates it issues.

 

6.2. Private Key Protection

 

6.2.1. Key Generation Modules

 

General Mills’ HSM offers safe storage of keys within the FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified product. The CA key and certificates are stored on industry standard HSM.

 

6.2.2. Multi-person Control (n out of m)

 

Access to an HSM attached to the CA, requires the insertion of cryptographic hardware tokens into a reader. A minimum number of required hardware tokens out of the total numbers of hardware tokens must be inserted one at a time to access the HSM.

 

6.2.3. Key Escrow

 

Where applicable, key escrow will be used to archive private key for disaster recovery using HSM technology.

 

6.2.4. Private Key Backup

 

CA private key back-ups are performed to support disaster recovery plan. Performing a cryptographic operation creates a high security backup of the private key. The operation encrypts the private key, splits it into two parts and stores them on separate hardware tokens. These backups are securely stored and are subject to extensive multi tier security measures.

 

6.2.5. CA Private Key Archival

 

No stipulation.

 

6.3. Other Aspects of Key Pair Management

 

End entity keys are not archived by the General Mills Public Key Infrastructure. CA keys are not archived beyond their validity period.

 

6.4. Activation Data

 

The activation data is protected by PIN, which is automatically generated. Furthermore, it is split into multiple hardware tokens to ensure multi-party control of this sensitive information.

 

6.5. Computer Security Controls

 

All General Mills CA servers are rigorously locked down based on operating systems requirements. 

 

6.6. Life Cycle Security Controls

 

No Stipulation

 

6.7. Network Security Controls

 

Certain CA servers are kept disconnected from the network and off line when not in use.

 

6.8. Cryptographic Module Engineering Controls

 

Refer to section 6.2

 

7. CERTIFICATE AND CRL PROFILES

 

7.1. Certificate Profiles

 

7.1.1. Version Numers

 

Digital certificates issued by General Mills are X.509 version 3

 

7.1.2 Certificate extensions

 

General Mills root CA certificate is listed below;

 

Subject DN

CN=General Mills Root CA

DC=Genmills

DC=com

Issuer DN

CN=General Mills Root CA

DC=Genmills

DC=com

Key Length

2048 bits

Validity

20 years

Certificate Type

Version 3

Subject Key Identifier

To be generated according to RFC 2459

Key Usage (Critical)

Certificate Signature, CRL Signature

Basic Constraints

Subject Type=CA
Path Length Constraint=None

Extended Key Usage

Client Authentication
Server Authentication

 

7.2. CRL Profile

 

The CRL is in version 1 format.

 

8. Specification Administration

 

8.1. Specification Change Procedures

 

Issues or comments identified with this CPS should be directed to the contact as mentioned in section 1.4 of the CPS.

 

8.2. Publication

 

After modifications have been approved by General Mills Information Systems Security Group, the amended CPS will be posted at the General Mills repository.

 

8.2.1. CPS Approval Procedures

 

The General Mills Information Systems Security Group approves practices compliant with this policy and statement.

 

8.3 CPS approval procedures

 

General Mills Information Systems Security Group has the final approval authority for the CPS and any subsequent changes that may be made to it.