ASN.1

Full Title

Abstract Syntax Notation version 1 = ASN.1

Context

In the time before internet there was the 7 layer ISO model and a bunch of PTOs (mostly government postal an telegraphy organizations worried by this new technology) that wanted to dominate the identity layer of the internet. The result was a series of CCITT (now ITU-T) committees establish to translate the telephone industry white pages into the identity of everyone. This expanded to include X.400 series standards on electronic mail which went beyond that to create a security system base on ASN.1 X.500 series standards. The only legacy of that is the use of Distinguished Names in email directories, like Microsoft Outlook.

Problem

1. Bureaucracy
2. Complexity