The future of security

[Ian Grigg]

Ben Laurie wrote:
> Steven M. Bellovin wrote:

>> The spammers are playing with other people's money, cycles, etc.  They 
>> don't care.
> 
> 
> We took that into account in the paper. Perhaps you should read it?
> 
> http://www.dtc.umn.edu/weis2004/clayton.pdf


(Most of the people on this list are far too
professional and busy to fall for that.  If
the argument has merit, please summarise it.
If it really has merit, the summary might
tease people into reading the full paper.)

I for one don't see it.  I like hashcash as
an idea, but fundamentally, as Steve suggests,
we expect email from anyone, and it's free.

We have to change one of those basic features
to stop spam.  Either make it "non-free," or
make it "non-authorised."  Hashcash doesn't
achieve either of those, although a similar
system such as a payment based system might
achieve it.

Mind you, I would claim that if we change either
of the two fundamental characteristics of email,
then it is no longer email.  For this reason,
I predict that email will die out (ever so
slowly and painfully) to be replaced by better
and more appropriate forms of chat/IM.

iang

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