[Cryptography] Explaining PK to grandma

[Kelly John Rose]

On Monday, November 25, 2013, David Mercer wrote:

> On Mon, Nov 25, 2013 at 5:10 PM, Nico Williams <nico at cryptonector.com<javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'nico at cryptonector.com');>
> > wrote:
>
>>
>> > What am I missing here?
>>
>> Signatures.  I don't know of a good analogy for signatures.  Anyone?
>>
>
> For signatures how about the kind of stamp you press into a wax seal, and
> a book with pictures of others' stamps as having their public key on your
> keyring?  A bit archaic, but grandma is more likely to get this one than
> perhaps some teenagers, as she may have actually seen one used in person.
>
> -David Mercer
>
>
The missing piece here is you can copy such a signature with a good forger.
Public key makes it so copying a signature requires something more.

I think signature is a misnomer in this circumstance.


-- 
Kelly John Rose
Toronto, ON
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