From: “Bruce M.” <bkmarsh@feist.com>
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Message Hash: 734f00dc7a40ef0f3790376f8d5945a0aa21ac46d074fd4a851b6c295c46a55c
Message ID: <Pine.BSI.3.91.960822120220.8472A-100000@wichita.fn.net>
Reply To: <9608212250.AA14289@cow.net>
UTC Datetime: 1996-08-22 20:57:18 UTC
Raw Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 04:57:18 +0800
From: "Bruce M." <bkmarsh@feist.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 04:57:18 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: USPS
In-Reply-To: <9608212250.AA14289@cow.net>
Message-ID: <Pine.BSI.3.91.960822120220.8472A-100000@wichita.fn.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain
On Wed, 21 Aug 1996, Bovine Remailer wrote:
> The Postal service is working on a new postage method, 2 key signature, which will be unique to each "postal unit" ( stamp ) the signature will be
> logged when you buy the stamps....No more anon. snail mail......
>
> Just thought you'd like to know !
In related news...
Web Week, July 8, 1996, p3
-
In an effort to do its part to nuture electronic commerce, the U.S.
Postal Service is launching a pilot project this summer to test the
electronic postmarking of documents sent over the Web.
The electronic postmark--a time and dte stamp--will carry the full
legal weight of the postmark on standard mail, including the Postal
Service's authority to investigate tampering.
[....]
The Postal Service's attorneys have told the USPS that the tampering
part of the current federal law would transfer to the electronic space,
and that the mail fraud portion might also apply...
"We're a trusted third party," Saunders said. "We don't have any
interest in learning your trade secrets. Congress oversees our actions.
Our customers have found that of value."
Electronic postmarking is one of two services that the USPS intends
to launch into cyberspace. The second is a certificate-authority
service, in which people can take a public encryption key and register it
with the Postal Service for general use on the Internet.
There will be three levels of security offered: simple online
registration; a physical verification of identity; and the highest level,
which requires electronic THUMBPRINTS. The certification program will
pilot-test in the fall and will be available to the public by the end of
the year. The price will be $10 to $15, Raines said. The certificates
will last one to three years, specified at registration.
Cylink Corp,...is providing the public-key encryption and certificate-
issuing technology fo the Postal Service, basd on the company's patented
Diffie-Hellman public-key cryptography scheme. Neither the Postal
Service nor Cylink executives would discuss the use of those technologies.
[Information about how their software will be integrated into software by
Microsoft, Lotus and Netscape]
[....]
The Postal Service plans to add follow-up services, including an
electronic return-receipt program and time-specific delivery.
[Talk about how great it would be to mail in your tax return with delayed
delivery]
[They say that Verisign is the alleged only real competitor in the
certificate market]
--
________________________________
[ Bruce M. - Feist Systems, Inc. ]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Official estimates show that more than 120 countries have or are
developing [information warfare] capabilities." -GAO/AIMD-96-84
So, what is your excuse now?
Return to August 1996
Return to ““Z.B.” <zachb@netcom.com>”