how email encryption should work (and how to get it used...)

[Amir Herzberg]

James A. Donald responded to me:
> 
>>A missing element is motivation for getting something
>>like this deployed... I think spam could offer such
>>motivation; and, I strongly believe that a
>>cryptographic protocol to penalize spammers could be 
>>one of the most important tools against spam.
> 
> The cure for spam is not a provable link to a true name,
> but a provable link to a domain name.
I disagree. I believe that _accountability_ is a key element in stopping 
spam, and that cryptographic protocols (such as SICS) offer the best 
mechanisms to ensure accountability of spam. A `provable link to domain 
name`, imho, is merely a specific method of accountability (in the 
domain level), which is useful, but not necessarily optimal, esp. 
considering the need to support mobile users and many domains, not all 
fully trustworthy.
> 
> The problem with adoption is that this is only
> beneficial against spam if widely used.  We face the
> usual critical mass problem.
Agreed here and indeed a focal point in this effort should definitely be 
providing value to early adopters. I  believe we can provide such early 
advantages better via spam-fighting mechanisms, such as secure protocol 
between multiple spam-aware mail agents (MTA-MTA, MTA-MUA)); so that's 
what we are developing in SICS. I believe these efforts are 
complementary to providing encryption services.

Best, Amir Herzberg

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