Re: [ltans] Harber and Stornetta expiry

[Phillip Hallam-Baker <[e-mail]>]

On Mon, Jul 18, 2011 at 6:05 AM, Peter Sylvester <[e-mail]
> wrote:

> **
> The purpose of hash linking schemes is to link time stamps together and
> to be able to verify them without the need of any cryptographic key
> which have the tendency to have their secrecy evaporate.
>

Its not the secrecy that worries me, its the ability to state with
confidence that the TSA will be around after the commercial incentive is
gone.

Its pretty easy to build a business case to support a registry of digital
signatures on mortgage notes to last 30-50 odd years. There is a lot of
money at stake and there will always be someone collecting on the note.

The problem is that we only have this type of business models for a small
number of signatures and they are pretty boring applications. That still
leaves open the question of how we make digital libraries as authentic and
trustworthy as paper ones used to be.

Print is dead. In 100 years time nobody will be printing books other than
for religious or sentimental reasons. People can argue about whether that
should happen but it is very clear that it will happen.

A couple of years ago GM went bankrupt. A couple of weeks ago the worlds
largest circulation tabloid went out of business despite robust profits. How
can we say with confidence that a TSA is going to be around in 100 years
time?



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-- 
Website: http://hallambaker.com/