In the past I was part of an attempt to make asymmetric crypto easier to use for a commercial product. My role was to help design the product (simple, collaborative file sharing; you've heard it before) and to let the experts ensure the crypto was used properly. What drove me absolutely nuts was the level of paranoia and uncertainty around the safety of the libraries and algorithms used. The available experts were confident in the concepts, but feared every implementation. "Par for the course" you might say, but the status quo around OpenSSL and other libraries is unacceptable.
From an application developer's perspective crypto libraries look like a lightning rod even for the experts. No one wants to get too involved or make recommendations lest they back the wrong horse (admittedly an easy thing to do). So kudos to the OpenBSD team for rolling up their sleeves and attempting to build a solid foundation for the future.
I'd be happy if OpenSSL is simply fixed. I'd be overjoyed if there was a solid crypto system underneath an OpenSSL compatible API that gives us a path towards an open source, reusable crypto platform.
From an application developer's perspective crypto libraries look like a lightning rod even for the experts. No one wants to get too involved or make recommendations lest they back the wrong horse (admittedly an easy thing to do). So kudos to the OpenBSD team for rolling up their sleeves and attempting to build a solid foundation for the future.
I'd be happy if OpenSSL is simply fixed. I'd be overjoyed if there was a solid crypto system underneath an OpenSSL compatible API that gives us a path towards an open source, reusable crypto platform.