Re: properties of FV

[Nathaniel Borenstein <nsb@nsb.fv.com>]

Excerpts from fv: 15-Dec-94 Re: properties of FV Eric
Hughes@remailer.net (3122)

>    > Use
>    > the crypto entirely for transit security.  If someone hacks your
>    > machine and grabs your passphrase and forges a transaction, at least
>    > the intruder has to grab your passphrase.

>    This is exactly the way we would expect to use crypto layered on top of
>    First Virtual's protocols, if and when such cryptographic protocols are
>    deployed widely enough to have penetrated af meaningful portion of our
>    market.

> "If and When" is Yes and Today.  Anybody who can autosign their
> outgoing mail can participate in this kind of transaction already.
> Assuming the above agreement is made with respect to private keys,
> there is _no_ risk to the customer about loss of secret keys, and no
> greater risk to the merchant than what currently obtains.

The risk analysis is absolutely true.  However, I have the impression
you missed the phrase "deployed widely enough to have penetrated a
meaningful portion of our market".  I suspect that the cypherbunks and
www-buyinfo communities are not the best place to get a feel for the
extent to which crypto is widely deployed.  Pick some random other list
or newsgroup, however, and I'll be surprised if you find 1% market
penetration for crypto.