John,
The title of the message thread was not mine, and is
quite misleading. I was NOT trying to link authorizations
to the DN, but rather to include a Disclaimer within the
certificate. One is positive, one is negative, and there is
quite a difference.
No difference. Neither authorizations disclaimers belong in a DN. A DN helps
to establish
an identity, it is not the identity. My driver license helps to establish my
identity, it carries no
disclaimer regarding my relationship to BBN.
My understanding at the time was that the PCAs were
unwilling, for a number of presumably valid business
reasons, to include such a disclaimer in their policy
statements. Now it appears that the winds may be
changing, so all of this argument may have become
moot.
I would believe that a PCA would limit their liability for actions of CAs and
certificate
holders. There is nothing that can take away individual responsibility.
Individuals will
always be presumed to be responsible for their actions until proven otherwise.
There is
nothing I can do to limit your responsiblity for you acts. I can only deny MY
responsibility
for your acts.
I could imagine a MIME/PEM compliant content which has as attributes such
disclaimers.
Once more, with feeling: HOW DO YOU GET THE PERSON
WHO STOLE YOUR KEY TO USE THE PROPER FORM??!
Who cares. This was discussed two years ago and it is getting old. The
question goes back
to "What does a digital signature on an electronic document really mean". The
proper analogue
is what is currently done in the real world for holographic signatures.
Borderline cases will be
settled as a part of common law or legislation. What do you do currently when
someone
forges your signature ? What do you do when someone depends on an instrument
that is
insufficiently verified ? Mortagages, wills, contracts, etc. typically require
(with feeling) LOTS more than just your signature, forged or otherwise.
Come on, people, this shouldn't be a hard concept to grasp!
There are any number of ways that authorizations can
be added. The trick is how to take them away, or how to
avoid being stuck with them from the beginning, if that is
your intent.
Come on, Bob, this isn't really hard at all. The current analogs for when you
depend
on signed documents, when you believe that someone is or is not authorized,
when you
ACT on instruments presented to you suffice. It is sometimes decided that the
person
who acted did so without proper "care" (legal term).
Bob
John