REPOST : Un-forgeable Cancels

[Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM]

jbaber at mi.leeds.ac.uk writes:

> Any comments/glareing weaknesses that I have missed?

Well, you missed credited guys named Franz and Huusinen with proposing this
exact scheme a couple of years ago. You also missed my discussion on how to
allow the local admin to issue cancels as well.

I used to think this scheme is very cool.  Later I realized it had a serious
problem with forgeries in one's name.

Suppose X forges an article in Y's name, and specifies a cancel lock; then
Y can't cancel this forgery.

The retraction server which David is reported to be working on doesn't
rely on passwords on authenticate Y; if Y can demonstrate the ability
to receive a cookie sent to Y, then the server can issue a signed 'hide'
NoCeM for an article that purports to be from Y.  Works for forgeries too.

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Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM
Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps