From: Bill Stewart <stewarts@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 14:56:50 +0800
To: Kent Crispin <cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Re: CMR versus GAK?
In-Reply-To: <1.5.4.32.19971027124538.006add84@pop.pipeline.com>
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19971028225014.00691d48@popd.ix.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



At 07:03 AM 10/27/1997 -0800, Kent Crispin wrote:
>Implicit you make the notion there is no merit.  But experience is a 
>harsh mistress -- employees do steal.  This is not fiction, but fact.

Sure.  The securities industry is especially concerned about the problem,
since there are many combinations of people who can rip of the others;
there's enough money floating around fast enough that anybody even
marginally dishonest can make lots of money quickly,
just as they can make money by arbitraging other market inefficiencies.

- broker and customer conspire to rip off the house
- broker and house conspire to rip off customer
- broker and insider conspire to rip off insider's company
- broker and insiders conspire to rip off outsiders
- broker leaves for another house, taking customers
- broker, customer, and house conspire to avoid taxes
- broker and customer conspire to otherwise hide money
- broker and customer conspire to transfer money to another customer
- broker and house conspire to deceive auditors

Some of these get controlled by the house to preserve its money;
some get controlled by regulators trying to "help" consumers,
some get controlled by the house because too many disgruntled customers
cuts into your reputation capital.  (Insider trading is especially like this.)
For the most part, this gets handled by extensive recordkeeping and auditing,
and the value of CAK/CMR is diluted here because it's mostly providing
access to information that was already being provided anyway.
You're better off using the PGP SMTP filters to _require_ encryption....
				Thanks! 
					Bill
Bill Stewart, stewarts@ix.netcom.com
Regular Key PGP Fingerprint D454 E202 CBC8 40BF  3C85 B884 0ABE 4639