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Article #647

User authentication (was Re: secure netnews)

#647
From: Carl Ellison
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1992 20:03
21 lines
1304 bytes
In article <1992Aug21.864.168@ALMAC> keith.willis@almac.co.uk writes:
>
>        RSA public keys certified by genetic fingerprint, that being
>        verifiable against that held by a central trusted authority?
>


I just don't see what the big deal is.  You'll never meet me.  You
can't care what I look like much less what genes I have.  If you were to
know, would that make my identification any more positive?


If I give you an RSA key, that's all you need.  I'm the only one in the world
who knows the two primes in N.  That defines *me*.  Balding head or not,
height, weight, ..., even gender is all irrelevant.

I can prove I know those primes by signing something.  You can verify that
I know the primes, without learning the primes -- therefore without becoming
able to pretend to be me.

What more do you want?
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Message-ID: <5894@transfer.stratus.com>
Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!wupost!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!bu.edu!transfer!ellisun.sw.stratus.com!cme
References: <1992Aug21.864.168@ALMAC>

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Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!wupost!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!bu.edu!transfer!ellisun.sw.stratus.com!cme
From: cme@ellisun.sw.stratus.com (Carl Ellison)
Newsgroups: sci.crypt
Subject: User authentication (was Re: secure netnews)
Message-ID: <5894@transfer.stratus.com>
Date: 25 Aug 92 20:03:35 GMT
References: <1992Aug21.864.168@ALMAC>
Sender: usenet@transfer.stratus.com
Distribution: sci
Organization: Stratus Computer, Software Engineering
Lines: 21