Peace@BIX.com writes:
So finding a KeyID is the problem that destroys PGP eh?
... I don't think anyone has suggested there's any one problem that "destroys" PGP. Several people have pointed out a number of problems that limit PGP's scalability in various ways. Its flat key ID namespace is one. Lack of functional modularity is another. Its fixed certification model is still another. There are more, and no doubt still others waiting to be discovered as the user base grows. Any secure communications system that aspires to large-scale penetration, whether called "PGP" or something else, will have to tackle these kinds of issues before it will be successful. Some of the issues are obvious, while others only become apparent after some experience. Scale, after all, has a way of turning easy problems into surprisingly hard ones. For whatever reason, PGP has attracted an almost cult-like following, and this has so far helped the spread of secure email. But this cuts both ways; cult status or not, PGP has to continue to evolve and adapt to large-scale, mainstream demands by applying the lessons of other big systems. If it doesn't, rest assured that companies like Microsoft and AT&T will do just fine with whatever they decide the market wants. -matt