ADEM - Distribution and Discovery over DNS
draft-linker-diem-adem-dns-00

Digital Emblems                                                F. Linker
Internet-Draft                                           15 January 2026
Intended status: Informational                                          
Expires: 19 July 2026

               ADEM - Distribution and Discovery over DNS
                     draft-linker-diem-adem-dns-00

Abstract

   TODO Abstract

About This Document

   This note is to be removed before publishing as an RFC.

   The latest revision of this draft can be found at https://adem-
   wg.github.io/adem-dns-spec/draft-linker-diem-adem-dns.html.  Status
   information for this document may be found at
   https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-linker-diem-adem-dns/.

   Discussion of this document takes place on the Digital Emblems
   Working Group mailing list (mailto:diem@ietf.org), which is archived
   at https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/diem.  Subscribe at
   https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/diem/.

   Source for this draft and an issue tracker can be found at
   https://github.com/adem-wg/adem-dns-spec.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
   working documents as Internet-Drafts.  The list of current Internet-
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   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on 19 July 2026.

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Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2026 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/
   license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document.
   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
   and restrictions with respect to this document.  Code Components
   extracted from this document must include Revised BSD License text as
   described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
   provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Conventions and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   3.  DNS Distribution  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   4.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   5.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   6.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     6.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     6.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4

1.  Introduction

   The ADEM Core Specification specifies how a set of _tokens_, encoded
   as JSON Web Signatures (JWSs) [RFC7515], can be used as a digital
   emblem to signal that digital assets enjoy specific protections under
   International Humanitarian Law (IHL).  This document describes a DNS-
   based distribution and discovery for ADEM tokens.

2.  Conventions and Definitions

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
   "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
   BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
   capitals, as shown here.

3.  DNS Distribution

   Given a set of tokens containing exactly one emblem and zero or more
   associated endorsements, issuers can distribute this set via DNS TXT
   records [RFC1035], as follows.

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   For each such set, issuers MAY choose a unique _identifier_ string.
   If multiple sets of tokens are associated with a given domain name,
   issuers SHOULD choose such a string.

   Each token is distributed as its own TXT record, which includes a key
   and a value.  The value encodes the token in JWT compact
   serialization.

   Each record's key MUST be formatted as:

   key := "adem" [ "-" identifier ]

   identifier := CHARACTER-NO-HYPEN+

   record := key "=" value

   CHARACTER-NO-HYPEN is any printable ASCII character as specified in
   [RFC0020] except for "-".  If present, identifier MUST coincide with
   the string identifying the token's set.

4.  Security Considerations

   TODO Security

5.  IANA Considerations

   This document has no IANA actions.

6.  References

6.1.  Normative References

   [RFC0020]  Cerf, V., "ASCII format for network interchange", STD 80,
              RFC 20, DOI 10.17487/RFC0020, October 1969,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc20>.

   [RFC1035]  Mockapetris, P., "Domain names - implementation and
              specification", STD 13, RFC 1035, DOI 10.17487/RFC1035,
              November 1987, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1035>.

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2119>.

   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8174>.

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6.2.  Informative References

   [RFC7515]  Jones, M., Bradley, J., and N. Sakimura, "JSON Web
              Signature (JWS)", RFC 7515, DOI 10.17487/RFC7515, May
              2015, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7515>.

Acknowledgments

   TODO acknowledge.

Author's Address

   Felix Linker
   Email: linkerfelix@gmail.com

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