William Allen Simpson wrote:
[snip]
There are no circumstances in which any reputable certifier will ever
__________________________________________^^^^^^^^^
certify any of the "multitude" containing a hidden pdf image, especially
where generated by another party.
Given what we know about the limitations of people, their
response to ethics, and the endemic nature of ego and bribery
around the world (See list of a few samples below) I would very
much doubt that this method won't be used one day. When? Who
knows. But as someone who rarely bets, this is one I'd bet on.
How about the Teapot Dome Scandal, Enron, WorldCom, Michael
Milken and all the others we find in our daily papers?
Or to move into an area where no money changed hands, look at:
http://innocenceproject.org/
and look at the corruption of public officials which put people
to death based on lies. Read up on why the Governor of Illinois
pardoned everyone on Death Row a few years back.
See:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19031423/
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/cunningham/
http://valleypolitics.blogspot.com/2007/03/conspiracy-extortion-bribery-oh-my.html
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/politics/13438616/detail.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1259957.stm
http://www.usdoj.gov/ criminal/ npftf/ pr/ press_releases/ 2007/
may/ 05-11-07lucas.pdf
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2005-11-08-titan-usat_x.htm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3340697
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=8649
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/347/
Then, of course, there is the Transparency International
Corruption Perceptions Index:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781359.html
Then, too, there is the Internet Center for Corruption Research:
http://www.icgg.org/
Ego/bribery/corruption is so common, and it effects most commonly
found after the fact, that to expect that a now "reputable
certifier," won't become corrupted in some manner, like the
notaries in Southern California in the elder fraud scandal, is
placing trust in a system without verification. It takes periodic
external audit to ensure the continued honesty of all certifiers.
This is what SOX in the US is attempting, but like most things,
never perfect the first time.
(BTW, I don't recall when or where, but recently there was a
comment on a list dealing in and around cryptography that went
approximately, "Who would of thought that this list would be
about philosophy?" (Not a quote, just an aging memory if I got
the essence wrong.)
Best,
Allen
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