Insiders vs. Outsiders...a Nice Metaphor

[tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)]

At 5:03 PM 10/5/95, Carl Ellison wrote:

>Crypto is used for making sure that insiders get in while outsiders are
>kept out of encrypted files/messages.
>
>Strong crypto does a better job of keeping outsiders out.
>
>Things like TIS CKE are mechanisms for making sure that insiders continue
>to get in, in spite of mishaps with their keys.
>
>
>Any such system can be evaluated on its technical merits (does it really
>separate the insiders from the outsiders as well as it claims to?) (does it
>survive various disasters (because if it doesn't survive, it can't keep
>insiders in)?)
>
>
>This is a separate topic from GAK -- which boils down to the Government's
>claim that it should be listed as an insider for everybody.
>
>
>That's what needs to be brought to everyone's attention.


This is a very nice metaphor for what is going on.

It also touches on some of the issues about key certification. The issue of
who a person is has nothing to do directly with whether they are an
"insider" or an "outsider."

(In fact, who a person "really is" is almost beside the point.)

--Tim May

Views here are not the views of my Internet Service Provider or Government.
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Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
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