OT: utility account transfer frauds

[Nexus]

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Howe" <DaveHowe@gmx.co.uk>
To: <ukcrypto@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2002 9:15 PM
Subject: Re: OT: utility account transfer frauds


> > > Because it is "impossible" to forge a digital signature you will be
> > > responsible for anything that is signed this way.
> > Ouch.... that's _really_ going to hurt someone sometime then... one is
> > wondering what muppet told them that ?   Are you allowed to act as
> your own
> > expert witness in court ?
> I am just waiting for this to fail, and fail badly in court. the obvious
> defense is to prove (by example) that two documents, with different
> content, can have the same digital signature - something the birthday
> attack is ideal for.  This of course leaves aside the problems of key
> theft and security generally.

Which is well known and reported in the Meedja hence my suprise on seeing
the "Because it is "impossible" to forge a digital signature " lunacy.
It's odd that the same premise of known forgery that is applied to driving
licences, passports, banknotes et al is not applied to digital forms, which
you could argue [their forgery] is easier as you are effectively dealing
with intangibles.

Cheers,
            JJ