From: droelke@spirit.aud.alcatel.com (Daniel R. Oelke)
Date: Thu, 9 Nov 1995 08:10:33 +0800
To: whitaker@sover.net
Subject: Re: toolkits?
Message-ID: <9511081640.AA27938@spirit.aud.alcatel.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain




> >
> >Third - provide services to the citizenry.  For example - provide
> >a public key server.  Or how about a digital time-stamping service.
> >If the crap was kept out of these services, and they were free for
> >anyone to use, then it would advance the idea of encouraging people to
> >use crypto in their daily lives.
> >
> 
> Now were getting specific. These are things that us ordinary folk can do
> which show the 'leaders' how to follow. What software, hardware,
> applications, support and sysadmin experience is required and where is it
> available on what terms. What are the cash flow opportunities to support
> such services?

PGP Public key servers - see MIT's key server as a good example.
Digital time-stamping service - see Betsie (sp?) from Bellcore 
as a basis.  These are things that are already out there, BUT 
I think that we can use more services like this.  Comercially
there probably isn't the demand to support these yet, but I think
we have a chicken and the egg problem here.  People can't use
encryption easily if they don't have good access to the tools, 
but people won't demand services like key-servers until they 
start useing the tools.

A good service would be to provide and support distribution of 
of privacy enhancing tools to universities and companies that
want them.  i.e. have people who will help set up firewalls,
PGP, encrypted telnet (pick your flavor), etc. 

A state wide group that has grants to provide internet connectivity
for universities and companies could have a person that does
nothing but work with these companies to help incorporate 
encryption into their networks. For instance, my employeer 
has hardware engineers putting VLSI designs on tape, and then
fed-ex'ing them to the chip manufacturer, because they can't 
get good encryption set up that allows secured ftp transfers.
(and get the manufacturer to agree to the same encryption 
technology, etc. etc. etc.)

Yes - I know that most of this stuff is out there already,
but having people *willing* to integrate it for you without
charging an arm and a leg would go a long way towards convincing the
suits that this is a *good* thing.  

Dan
------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan Oelke                                  Alcatel Network Systems
droelke@aud.alcatel.com                             Richardson, TX