From: Adam Shostack <adam@bwh.harvard.edu>
Date: Sun, 10 Sep 95 16:10:30 PDT
To: weidai@eskimo.com (Wei Dai)
Subject: Re: question about reputation
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SUN.3.91.950910145610.8377A-100000@eskimo.com>
Message-ID: <199509102310.TAA00342@bwh.harvard.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



	Good question, but a quick modification allows for effective
bootstrapping.  If I want to start consulting for Amalgameted
Consolodated, I can offer them a 10 free questions deal to bootstrap
things with.  Mallet can only cheat if my offer was broadcast.  (I 
presume that Amalagated' keys are somehow strongly verified, and the
negotiantions are kept secret from Eve and Mallet.)

	There might also be fingerprinting technologies that allow me
to embed a signature in the documents returned to clients that would
allow me to show that Mallet stole them.  (Which might, incidentally,
get Mallet a job in some circles...If thats known, Bob and Alice can
collude to make it appear that Bob was Mallet, and thus forge a
reputation.


Wei wrote:
| In an economy based on positive reputations, how does one acquire a 
| reputation capital?  One way may be to initially perform services at a 
| price below cost, but this has some problems.
| 
| For example, Alice starts a anonymous consulting service, and announces 
| that she will answer the first ten queries for free.  Upon hearing this, 
| Mallet immediately starts another consulting service, and announces the 
| same offer.  At this point Mallet can simply forward his customers' 
| queries to Alice and Alice's answers back to his customers.  Thus, he gains 
| reputation at no cost.
| 
| On the other hand, this "man-in-the-middle" attack can also work against
| conventional True Name based services, but perhaps with less effect.  Has
| anyone ever heard of this being done? 
| 
| Is there a better way to acquire a good reputation?
| 
| Wei Dai
| 

-- 
"It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once."
					               -Hume