Are there any simple diagrams which illustrate these types of problems from an information perspective? What I mean is, there are various mechanisms available,

Are there any simple diagrams which illustrate these types of problems from an information perspective? What I mean is, there are various mechanisms available, such as chain-of-authority, shared secrets, etc., and sometimes I get a whiff that something new, like DNSSEC, is, from an information theory (is that the correct term?) perspective, very similar to what's already in existence, for instance TLS, when the particulars of the protocols are stripped away.