I have here the Fiat-Shamir paper, "How to Prove Yourself: Practical Solutions to Identification and Signature Problems," from the 1986 CRYPTO Conference Proceedings. This is of course the defining paper of the Fiat-Shamir algorithm, which I understand was patented (no idea of patent number, or countries). And I hear from Chaum that Rupert Murdoch's publishing outfit (including Sky Channel, a satellite system) bought the rights to Fiat-Shamir. (Speaking of Chaum and patents, Chaum has also filed for patents and reportedly has already gotten some. We spend a lot of time talking about the RSA/PKP patents and when they'll run out (1998-2002), but patents on digital money may be just as constraining.) Anyway, if there's sufficient interest (contact me via e-mail), I can scan and OCR as much of the paper as is feasible (the equations and Greek symbols are always problematic). I suspect serious students of this stuff have access to the CRYPTO Proceedings at large university libraries, and the Fiat-Shamir paper is definitely a nice little intro, so I'm not sure it's worth the couple of hours it may take to get a good clean copy suitable for uploading to the list. The schemes for "is-a-person" credentialling should be of interest to us for several reasons: 1. The non-PGP "models" that rely on centralized credentialling agencies, be they private companies like Apple or RSA Data Security, or be they government agencies like DMV or National Health Offices. Carl Ellison noted this in connection with the PEM model. (One of the most impoortant innovations of PGP, in my opinion, was the "distributed trust" model used. Let's demand this of other packages we may use.) 2. Key escrow schemes could ultimately involve a tie-in to "is-a-person" databases. Someone wrote yesterday about an FCC-like ruling that would demand that all messages sent over the Net(s) be digitally signed with a signature associatable (sp?) with a True Name. (I can't see how this would be enforced, and can think of many ways around it. But it's important we think about what may be coming, the better to head it off early.) 3. As I have speculated before, I see the talk of a National Health Care Card--possibly a SmartCard of some sort--as naturally associated with a National ID Card. The immigration "problem" is causing many to call for such a card. "Your papers, please! Schnell!" (I hope I did not trivialize my point by bringing Nazis in.) Cypherpunks need to worry about more than just the government snooping on their messages--that's just one facet of the picture. The "dossier society" aspects are just as important. Ditto for other areas. So, let me know if there's real interest in this paper. And I have several of these Proceedings, with access to all the rest of the CRYPTO and EUROCRYPT Proceedings over at the UC Santa Cruz Science Library. I can't scan them all in, for obvious and compelling reasons (even with the "assistance" of the Information Liberation Front :-} ), but this is a resource that is available. --Tim May -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^756839 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. Note: I put time and money into writing this posting. I hope you enjoy it.