impersonation

[full-disclosure () lists netsys com (David Benfell)]

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On Thu, 15 Aug 2002 12:24:41 -0600, Charles Stevenson wrote:
> Jonathan,
> =20
> On Thu, Aug 15, 2002 at 12:03:27PM -0400, Jonathan Rickman wrote:
> > Yep. Everyone should start signing messages. I think I'll start now...
> =20
> Count me in.
> =20
> peace,
> core
> =20
Having been doing this all along, far be it from me to argue.

However:

[-- PGP output follows (current time: Fri 16 Aug 2002 12:23:20 AM PDT) --]
gpg: Signature made Thu 15 Aug 2002 11:24:40 AM PDT using DSA key ID 13B278=
93
gpg: Can't check signature: public key not found
[-- End of PGP output --]

This makes it difficult to confirm your signature.  I would suggest
publishing your public keys on public key servers.

Also, everyone should be cautioned that Windows virus-checking
programs have been known to mistake GnuPG (and I would presume PGP)
signatures for virii.  As you can imagine, this can lead to grave
misunderstandings.

So while I'm all in favor of using verifiable cryptographic
signatures, doing so may make this list less friendly to those who
(sometimes under duress) are using Windows.

Finally, given the sort of spam we've been seeing, there's little to
stop these children from also signing their messages; so I would
suggest the following procedures (without regard to how difficult they
might be to actually implement):

1) Moderate subscription requests.  Subscription requests must be
accompanied by a verifiable cryptographic signature.

2) Only subscribers may post, and all postings must have verifiable
cryptographic signatures matching the key used to sign the original
subscription request.

--=20
David Benfell, LCP
benfell () parts-unknown org
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Resume available at http://www.parts-unknown.org/resume.html

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