Subject: [secdir] [new-work] WG Review: MAC Address Device Identification for Network and Application Services (madinas)

From: The IESG <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2021 09:19:05 -0700

A new IETF WG has been proposed in the Internet Area. The IESG has not made
any determination yet. The following draft charter was submitted, and is
provided for informational purposes only. Please send your comments to the
IESG mailing list ([email-masked]) by 2021-09-07.

MAC Address Device Identification for Network and Application Services
(madinas)
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Current status: Proposed WG

Chairs:
  Carlos Bernardos <[email-masked]>
  Juan-Carlos Zúñiga <[email-masked]>

Assigned Area Director:
  Éric Vyncke <[email-masked]>

Internet Area Directors:
  Erik Kline <[email-masked]>
  Éric Vyncke <[email-masked]>

Mailing list:
  Address: [email-masked]
  To subscribe: https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/madinas
  Archive: https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/madinas/

Group page: https://datatracker.ietf.org/group/madinas/

Charter: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/charter-ietf-madinas/

The Medium Access Control (MAC) address is the Link Layer address used in
IEEE 802 technologies. It was originally assigned statically for each
physical network card by the Network Interface Card manufacturer, out of the
space reserved by the IEEE Registration Authority Committee (RAC) for
globally unique MAC addresses. The MAC address is used as source or
destination target when sending and receiving frames. The default static
assignment of the MAC address raises privacy concerns for personal devices.
These concerns have recently started to be mitigated by SDOs specifying the
use of Randomized and Changing MAC addresses (RCM) and end-device vendors
implementing RCM.

Device identity is important in scenarios where the network needs to know the
device or user identity in order to offer, operate and maintain certain
services. Currently, many use cases and applications make an implicit
assumption that a device is represented by an IEEE 802 Layer 2  permanent and
unique MAC address. This assumption is being used in both control plane and
data plane functions and protocols. RCM breaks this assumption. This requires
updating applications to function across MAC address changes.

The MADINAS Working Group will document the current RCM state of affairs by

(i) identifying relevant network and application services scenarios and
examining the effect of RCM schemes on them;

(ii) analyzing various existing identifiers (i.e., beyond the MAC address)
that can be used by the network to provide seamless services, and

(iii) identifying scenarios where device identity is not required.

The group will generate a best common practices (BCP) document recommending
means to ensure that the privacy achieved with RCM is not compromised. For
scenarios where device identity stability is desirable, the BCP document will
recommend existing protocols that can be used to protect the request and
exchange of identifiers between the client and the service provider. The
MADINAS Working Group will examine other IETF work and other standards (e.g.,
IEEE) that may be applicable for the aforementioned exchange and use of
identifiers.

The Working Group will work together with other IETF WGs (e.g., DHC,
IntArea), and will liaise with other relevant organizations such as IEEE 802
and the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA). The Working Group will coordinate
on the different recommendations, as well as potential follow-up activities
within or outside the IETF.

MADINAS is expected to be a short timeframe (12-18 months) Working Group to
quickly assess these needs. Additional solution space documents would only be
published if identified as necessary, requiring a rechartering process in
coordination with other relevant SDOs.

The group will produce the following deliverables:

1. Document Current State of Affairs:
  An Informational Use Cases and Requirements document
  An Informational MAC Address Randomization current state-of-affairs document

2. Document Best Practices handling RCM
  A Best Common Practices document

Milestones:

  Jun 2022 - MAC Address Randomization current state-of-affairs
  (informational) document submitted to the IESG for publication

  Sep 2022 - Use Cases and Requirements (informational) document submitted to
  the IESG for publication

  Mar 2023 - Best Practices handling RCM document submitted to the IESG for
  publication

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