From: edgar@spectrx.Saigon.COM (Edgar W. Swank)
To: Cypherpunks <cypherpunks@toad.com>
Message Hash: b1c7123b06beabe2418f76c4e484eececd76d0a3cbde17ac1c989e97811e7d90
Message ID: <FZDB0B8w165w@spectrx.saigon.com>
Reply To: N/A
UTC Datetime: 1993-09-03 20:15:36 UTC
Raw Date: Fri, 3 Sep 93 13:15:36 PDT
From: edgar@spectrx.Saigon.COM (Edgar W. Swank)
Date: Fri, 3 Sep 93 13:15:36 PDT
To: Cypherpunks <cypherpunks@toad.com>
Subject: PGP features
Message-ID: <FZDB0B8w165w@spectrx.saigon.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain
Brad Huntting recently posted:
Perhaps it's time we polished the edges, added a few of the features
that are lacking, and wrote up up an RFC for the PGP message format.
Some features I'd like to see in PGP are:
I've added my comments [with these full margins] as appropriate.
The ability to send an encrypted message to multiple
recipients without duplicating the entire message. The
most logical way to do this would probably be to encrypt
the random IDEA key once for each recipient.
??? This has been implemented in PGP since at least release 2.2.
(Maybe 2.1, memory fails). Just specify multiple UserID fragments in
the command line when encrypting. Note that if you don't specify a
UserID in the command line, you -cannot- enter multiple ID's in the
resulting prompt. This is in the -h help text:
To encrypt a message for any number of multiple recipients:
pgp -e textfile userid1 userid2 userid3
There needs to be a facility for having multiple signatures
on a single document without making the signers sign each
others signatures. Besides the obvious application of
removing a signature from a document, this would also
facilitate things like petitions where many people could
asynchronously sign a single document, and latter assemble
all the signatures together.
This can be done via detached signature certificates, which can be
gathered together and presented with the original document.
To create a signature certificate that is detached from the document:
pgp -sb textfile [-u your_userid]
It should be possible (though certainly not mandatory) to
hide the recipient's identity entirely.
Not currently implemented, but being discussed. You can acheive much
the same effect by using a another key-pair with a pseudonym in the
UserID, to be distributed only through remailers or otherwise
anonymously.
The message format needs to allow for alternate forms of
encryption (besides IDEA). Furthermore, the (shared key)
algorithm used to encrypt a message should be hidden in
the RSA encrypted part of the message along with the shared
key. Ideally, a list of algorithms could be given which
would allow the message to be optionally compressed before
being encrypted, or encrypted two or more times with
different algorithms.
Not implemented, but has been mentioned. Triple-DES is one possible
alternative. You can achieve multiple IDEA encryption by just using
current PGP to encrypt twice (or more). Even if you encrypt to the
same public key, the IDEA key used will be different.
Compression can currently be turned off, if desired, via a CONFIG.TXT
option, which can also be specified in the command line. Compression
is also automatically turned off if the plaintext is recognized as the
output of PKZIP or other popular compressors.
If I'm confused and the PGP message format already supports some
of these features, please correct me.
Consider yourself corrected (:}
--
edgar@spectrx.saigon.com (Edgar W. Swank)
SPECTROX SYSTEMS +1.408.252.1005 Cupertino, Ca
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1993-09-03 (Fri, 3 Sep 93 13:15:36 PDT) - PGP features - edgar@spectrx.Saigon.COM (Edgar W. Swank)