-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- In an interesting list message, Wonderer wrote:

It seems to me that we have an interesting dilemma here. If we are willing to sign a key based on an entity that we KNOW does not really exist, then what does a signature mean?

Here's a terrific example of one of the interesting differences between the PEM-style key hierarchy and the PGP web. Consider that any entity (real or spoofed) can own a key pair in either model. A PEM key is bound to a particular identity by a certificate. Right now, you can only get these certificates from entities that want some concrete evidence of your True Name; this makes sense, since the certificate establishes that key X belongs to True Name Y. PGP, OTOH, doesn't have any direct equivalent of a certificate. If I get Wonderer's key with no signatures, I can't guarantee anything about the association between that entity and the key I get. If I get that same PGP key with signatures from Phil Karn and L. Detwiler, I know that they're willing to certify the assocation. Does that mean anything? Well, it depends on who the signers are :) A set of PGP signatures can be equivalent to a PEM-style certificate; that is, the set of signatures on a key, establishing that a particular key belongs to a particular entity, can potentially be as trustworthy as a certificate from Dun & Bradstreet or RSA. The PGP feature that a key doesn't have to belong to the True Name of an entity is a big plus in my book; otherwise, we'd have no Wonderer, no deadbeat, and no S. Boxx. - -Paul - -- Paul Robichaux, KD4JZG | Caution: cutting edge is sharp. Avoid contact. Intergraph Federal Systems | Be a cryptography user - ask me how. ** Of course I don't speak for Intergraph. ** -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.3a iQCVAgUBLNAJ2yA78To+806NAQF/DAQApsjQgIjW26GPvL2kINfCzTGyxn6zXJr9 OZVdLjPRe/J7eudxXfe5q7MlENxyomXgXqnUr5AxmTEjPzWCj63D1Yq2qr2Gcjq+ i7YTg8d9P+L+yTsTVUBk+ZIbBv+AFnD35yCEQnIC5nCE0kK644cpwa1FjDyLla01 2m4fvPNTOnM= =ZF43 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----