From: Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>
Date: Sat, 28 Jun 1997 07:43:15 +0800
To: pooh@efga.org
Subject: Re: Secure Authentication
In-Reply-To: <3.0.2.32.19970627134844.03400910@mail.atl.bellsouth.net>
Message-ID: <v03020904afd9f055c7fc@[139.167.130.246]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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> Robert A. Costner writes:
> > Electronic Frontiers Georgia is forming a working group on Secure
> > Authentication Methodologies.

Actually, the best signature law proposal I've seen comes from the, so help
me, Massachusetts.

It's a single sentence which says that there will be nothing Massachusetts
law which can be construed to preclude the use of a digital signature.

Double negatives aside, the above translates into legal digital signatures.
Period. No bullshit about "Certification" "Authorities", or what
constitutes a "legal" digital signature, or any other cruft. If you sign a
state, or other, document with a digital signature, then, if it can be
proven to be your signature, you signed it. Game over.

Even broken clocks are right twice a day, I guess. :-).

Now if we can get away from the whole idea of biometric signatures
altogether, that would be the next trick...

Cheers,
Bob Hettinga

-----------------
Robert Hettinga (rah@shipwright.com), Philodox
e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
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