Jean-Francois Blanchette
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262017510
- eISBN:
- 9780262301565
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262017510.001.0001
- Subject:
- Information Science, Information Science
The gradual disappearance of paper and its familiar evidential qualities affects almost every dimension of contemporary life. From health records to ballots, almost all documents are now digitized at ...
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The gradual disappearance of paper and its familiar evidential qualities affects almost every dimension of contemporary life. From health records to ballots, almost all documents are now digitized at some point of their life cycle, easily copied, altered, and distributed. This book examines the challenge of defining a new evidentiary framework for electronic documents, focusing on the design of a digital equivalent to handwritten signatures. From the blackboards of mathematicians to the halls of legislative assemblies, the book traces the path of such an equivalent: digital signatures based on the mathematics of public-key cryptography. In the mid-1990s, cryptographic signatures formed the centerpiece of a worldwide wave of legal reform and of an ambitious cryptographic research agenda that sought to build privacy, anonymity, and accountability into the very infrastructure of the Internet. Yet markets for cryptographic products collapsed in the aftermath of the dot-com boom and bust along with cryptography’s social projects. The book describes the trials of French bureaucracies as they wrestled with the application of electronic signatures to real estate contracts, birth certificates, and land titles, and tracks the convoluted paths through which electronic documents acquire moral authority. These paths suggest that the material world need not merely succumb to the virtual but, rather, can usefully inspire it. Indeed, the book argues, in renewing their engagement with the material world, cryptographers might also find the key to broader acceptance of their design goals.Less
The gradual disappearance of paper and its familiar evidential qualities affects almost every dimension of contemporary life. From health records to ballots, almost all documents are now digitized at some point of their life cycle, easily copied, altered, and distributed. This book examines the challenge of defining a new evidentiary framework for electronic documents, focusing on the design of a digital equivalent to handwritten signatures. From the blackboards of mathematicians to the halls of legislative assemblies, the book traces the path of such an equivalent: digital signatures based on the mathematics of public-key cryptography. In the mid-1990s, cryptographic signatures formed the centerpiece of a worldwide wave of legal reform and of an ambitious cryptographic research agenda that sought to build privacy, anonymity, and accountability into the very infrastructure of the Internet. Yet markets for cryptographic products collapsed in the aftermath of the dot-com boom and bust along with cryptography’s social projects. The book describes the trials of French bureaucracies as they wrestled with the application of electronic signatures to real estate contracts, birth certificates, and land titles, and tracks the convoluted paths through which electronic documents acquire moral authority. These paths suggest that the material world need not merely succumb to the virtual but, rather, can usefully inspire it. Indeed, the book argues, in renewing their engagement with the material world, cryptographers might also find the key to broader acceptance of their design goals.
Jean-François Blanchette
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262017510
- eISBN:
- 9780262301565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262017510.003.0006
- Subject:
- Information Science, Information Science
This chapter examines the experiences of three bureaucratic organizations as they struggle with the application of electronic signatures to real estate contracts, birth certificates, and land titles. ...
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This chapter examines the experiences of three bureaucratic organizations as they struggle with the application of electronic signatures to real estate contracts, birth certificates, and land titles. It suggests that the divergent routes in the computerization of these documents highlight the need to pay attention to the specific material conditions and institutional contexts that govern the production of written evidence. It also argues that the technical conditions necessary for the long-term legibility of electronic documents present a serious challenge to the forensic value of cryptographic signature verification.Less
This chapter examines the experiences of three bureaucratic organizations as they struggle with the application of electronic signatures to real estate contracts, birth certificates, and land titles. It suggests that the divergent routes in the computerization of these documents highlight the need to pay attention to the specific material conditions and institutional contexts that govern the production of written evidence. It also argues that the technical conditions necessary for the long-term legibility of electronic documents present a serious challenge to the forensic value of cryptographic signature verification.
Jean-François Blanchette
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262017510
- eISBN:
- 9780262301565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262017510.003.0008
- Subject:
- Information Science, Information Science
This chapter explores the application of cryptography in voting technologies. It suggests that the widespread adoption of these technologies are likely to face similar difficulties as the ...
More
This chapter explores the application of cryptography in voting technologies. It suggests that the widespread adoption of these technologies are likely to face similar difficulties as the cryptographic signature model because they are designed based on similar assumptions. It also highlights the need for cryptographers to address the design blind spots in order to help reinvigorate their sociotechnical agenda.Less
This chapter explores the application of cryptography in voting technologies. It suggests that the widespread adoption of these technologies are likely to face similar difficulties as the cryptographic signature model because they are designed based on similar assumptions. It also highlights the need for cryptographers to address the design blind spots in order to help reinvigorate their sociotechnical agenda.
