[10350] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Re: Florida's mandate for digital signatures
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (PACS-L Moderator)
Fri Jun 28 22:02:40 1996
Date: Fri, 28 Jun 1996 17:59:23 -0500 (CDT)
From: PACS-L Moderator <libpacs@UH.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU>
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>From: jwarren@well.com (Jim Warren)
>Subject: Re: Florida's mandate for digital signatures
>
>Because there are many individuals and groups deeply interested in privacy
>protection/crypto and authentication/digital-sig issues, I am forwarding
>this to several related lists, so that they can be informed of Florida's
>laudible beginning efforts.
>
>Also blind-cc'ed to several other interested individuals.
>
>This is an excerpt from a recent message to me:
>
>> Florida has passed a
>> bill regarding digital signatures. The Secretary will be implementing
>> this. They are putting together a committee [on the subject].
>
>
>California's Secy of State is also mandated to develop digital sig
>standards for those doing business with state or local agencies -- and
>similar, likely-*INCOMPATABLE* mandates have been imposed on an increasing
>number of other states.
>
>This entire turf is COMPLEX and has numerous non-trivial, non-obvious
>pitfalls and ramifications -- and well-meaning legislators often don't
>at-all understand what they are mandating, nor what problems ill-phrased
>mandates may precipitate.
>
>What is REALLY needed is a coordinated *national* effort to create
>robust/uncrackable NATIONAL standards for digital signatures.
>Unfortunately, dig-sigs are intimately entangled with cryptography -- and
>the feds (Clinton administration, FBI, CIA, NSA) are doing everything they
>can to *deter* the development of robust/uncrackable national crypto
>standards, that could provide businesses and citizens with
>increasingly-needed privacy protection (but requires the presumption of
>innocence that complicates law enforcement and spying), as well as the
>associated authorship-authentication (digital signatures).
>
>Ideally, the National Association of Secretaries of State could/should make
>this a coordinated national effort -- given that the feds are preoccupied
>with trying to guarantee INsecurity for all U.S. citizens and businesses.
>
>--jim
>Jim Warren, GovAccess list-owner/editor, advocate & columnist
(jwarren@well.com)
>345 Swett Rd., Woodside CA 94062; voice/415-851-7075; fax/<# upon request>
>
>[puffery FWIW: Hugh M. Hefner First-Amendment Award, Playboy Foundation;
>James Madison Freedom-of-Information Award, Soc.of Prof.Journalists-Nor.Cal.;
>Pioneer Award, Electronic Frontier Foundation (its first year, 1992);
>founded InfoWorld, DataCast, Computers, Freedom & Privacy confs, etc. :-).]
>
>
>
