What does an honest person need cryptography for? What is the purpose of cryptography on the internet? Jacob touched on this earlier when he was talking about electronic commerce. Crypto is not about passing secret notes to fellow conspirators, but it can be used that way. It is not about hiding our thoughts and actions from the government, but some find uses for it there too. Crypto on the internet is about one thing: TRUST. We have our photos on our drivers licenses. I was once asked to put my thumb print on a check I was cashing. I have a code and a special card for use at the ATM which takes my picture when I use it. I purchase things online, and don't want others spending my money. This type of trust must also exist on the internet if we are to continue to expand its usefulness. Digital signatures in email (read the gpg manual) are very important because you need to be able to trust that email is from who it says it's from. It doesn't take much imagination to understand that email, like telephone calls and written correspondence, could also need to be private. Privacy is (or should be) a right. I don't want my child's school schedule, my medical status, or my feelings about a recently deceased friend to be public knowledge. But I would like to be able to tell these things to friends and family in a secure way. Do honest people have anything do hide? Yes, they do. If you have read "Cryptonomicon", then you are familiar with the idea of completely secure digital currency. Sound like a good idea? It can't exist without 100% trusted and secure crypto. If you build a backdoor into a crypto system, that system is worthless. It can not be trusted. What happens to weak crypto? It is cracked and rendered useless. DeCSS anyone? It is illegal to tamper with or steal someone else's mail. Even the FBI needs special permission to listen to your phone conversations. Why should the internet be less trusted? Why would someone want it to be illegal to trust the communications medium? If our ideas all become the domain of the government, how is that unlike Thought Police? Well, I guess I'm done thinking out loud right now... Everyone have a nice weekend. TimH P.S. Perhaps some people think this belongs in a different list, and perhaps they are right. But this list is where the people I want to talk to and have grown to like are.
