Trustworthy contacts

[Nicholas Bohm]

At 12:29 PM 9/14/2000 +0100, Brian Gladman wrote:
>From: "Quentin Campbell" <Q.G.Campbell@newcastle.ac.uk>
>To: "UK Crypto List" <ukcrypto@maillist.ox.ac.uk>
>Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2000 8:50 AM
>Subject: Re: Trustworthy contacts
>
>[snip]
>> The ominous part was the implication that the cost of this fraud should be
>> shifted from the supplier to the consumer. This would be done by requiring
>> some means of "authenticated signing" by the consumer at the time the
>> transaction was made.
>
>I most certainly agree that there are real dangers here.  In the on-line
>banking business there is already evidence that the risk of fraud might be
>transferred to consumers.  And, as you say, there will be increasing
>pressure to introduce digital signatures for which the onus will fall on the
>signature owner to prove that a disputed signature is false rather than on
>the financial institutions to prove that it is genuine.  This will neatly
>transfer the risk to e-consumers.

It is of course not logically necessary that introducing digital signatures
means making the purported signer liable unless he can prove he didn't sign
(or even if he can); but the temptation to do so by contractual means will
be very strong.

I urge vigilance:  I hope all subscribers to this list will keep their eyes
out for small print which has this as its aim, and report it to the list.

Regards,

Nicholas Bohm

Salkyns, Great Canfield,
Takeley, Bishop's Stortford CM22 6SX, UK

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