Trust spectrum for certificate distribution in distributed peer-to-peer networks

A peer computing system, comprising:

• a plurality of peer nodes;
• at least a subset of the plurality of peer nodes configured to participate in areas of interest to find and exchange codats relevant to the areas of interest, wherein a codat is computer-representable content or data;
• wherein the at least a subset of the plurality of peer nodes is further configured to participate in a distributed trust mechanism to establish and maintain trust relationships among the peer nodes in particular areas of interest from trust evaluations of codat exchange among the peer nodes in the particular areas of interest;
• wherein each of the at least a subset of the plurality of peer nodes is configured to provide secure access to codats using certificates, wherein a certificate is a security credential corresponding to a particular peer node;
• and
• wherein the at least a subset of the plurality of peer nodes is further configured to determine trust in certificates received from other peer nodes in accordance with the distributed trust mechanism, wherein, to determine trust in certificates corresponding to other peer nodes, each of the at least a subset of plurality of peer nodes is further configured to:
• locally maintain trust information corresponding to one or more other peer nodes, wherein the trust information includes trust evaluations pertaining to the one or more other peer nodes;
• and
• determine trust in a particular certificate, wherein trust in the particular certificate is determined dependent on the locally maintained trust information corresponding to at least one of one or more peer nodes on a network path between the peer node and a peer node corresponding to the particular certificate.

A peer node, comprising:

• a processor;
• a memory comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable by the processor to:
• participate in an area of interest with other peer nodes on a network to find and exchange codats relevant to the area of interest, wherein a codat is computer-representable content or data;
• implement a distributed trust mechanism to establish and maintain trust relationships with the other peer nodes in the area of interest from trust evaluations of codat exchange with the peer nodes in the area of interest;
• provide secure access to codats using certificates, wherein a certificate is a security credential corresponding to a particular peer node;
• and
• determine trust in certificates received from the other peer nodes in accordance with the distributed trust mechanism;
• wherein, to determine trust in certificates received from the other peer nodes in accordance with the distributed trust mechanism, the program instructions are executable by the processor to:
• locally maintain trust information corresponding to one or more of the other peer nodes, wherein the trust information includes trust evaluations pertaining to the one or more other peer nodes;
• and
• determine trust in a particular certificate, wherein trust in the particular certificate is determined dependent on the locally maintained trust information corresponding to at least one of one or more peer nodes on a network path between the peer node and a peer node corresponding to the particular certificate.

A method, comprising:

• a peer node participating in an area of interest with other peer nodes on a network to find and exchange codats relevant to the area of interest, wherein a codat is computer-representable content or data;
• the peer node establishing and maintaining trust relationships with the other peer nodes in the area of interest from trust evaluations of codat exchange with the peer nodes in the area of interest in accordance with a distributed trust mechanism;
• the peer node providing secure access to codats using certificates, wherein a certificate is a security credential corresponding to a particular peer node;
• and
• the peer node determining trust in certificates received from the other peer nodes in accordance with the distributed trust mechanism, wherein said determining trust in certificates received from the other peer nodes in accordance with the distributed trust mechanism comprises:
• locally maintaining trust information corresponding to one or more of the other peer nodes, wherein the trust information includes trust evaluations pertaining to the one or more other peer nodes;
• and
• determining trust in a particular certificate, wherein trust in the particular certificate is determined dependent on the locally maintained trust information corresponding to at least one of one or more peer nodes on a network path between the peer node and a peer node corresponding to the particular certificate.

A tangible, computer-accessible storage medium, comprising software instructions executable to implement, on a peer node:

• participating in an area of interest with other peer nodes on a network to find and exchange codats relevant to the area of interest, wherein a codat is computer-representable content or data;
• establishing and maintaining trust relationships with the other peer nodes in the area of interest from trust evaluations of codat exchange with the peer nodes in the area of interest in accordance with a distributed trust mechanism;
• providing secure access to codats using certificates, wherein a certificate is a security credential corresponding to a particular peer node;
• and
• determining trust in certificates received from the other peer nodes in accordance with the distributed trust mechanism, wherein, in said determining trust in certificates received from the other peer nodes in accordance with the distributed trust mechanism, the software instructions are executable to implement, on the peer node:
• locally maintaining trust information corresponding to one or more of the other peer nodes, wherein the trust information includes trust evaluations pertaining to the one or more other peer nodes;
• and
• determining trust in a particular certificate, wherein trust in the particular certificate is determined dependent on the locally maintained trust information corresponding to at least one of one or more peer nodes on a network path between the peer node and a peer node corresponding to the particular certificate.