Re: USA Today on Fear of Credit Cards over Net

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

<snip>

>	How much do PC users trust:
>
>	Automatic teller machines	77%
>	Banking by phone		62%
>	Banking by computer		57%
>	Using a credit card or calling 
>	card at a public phone		57%
>	Writing a credit-card number on
>	a catalog order form		43%
>	Sending a credit-card number to
>	a commercial on-line service	34%
>	Giving a credit-card number
>	over the phone			31%
>	Sending a credit-card number
>	over the Internet		 5%
>
>	(margin of error = +/- 4.7%)

<snip>

Pity they didn't ask about, "Tossing a credit card slip/carbon
in the garbage." Dumpster-diving is still an effective, lo-tech
attack.
JMR


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.2
Comment: Freedom isn't Freeh

iQCVAwUBMGAxQW1lp8bpvW01AQEfmwP9GfEzhoBWuTNHvxZ7dMvMV7K/cypT0XmO
kLqAAtPHyhS3PxmwNiT0G4tquU9QHw2cQ5Rj6IAqR7Fbuvtt1TW2Kora9RsXLp5L
75Zw63/wrsnI20qe+Pnf6FEG0IcjLg4vrezhAGYAC3zSdTpSW4cuqdzId6qeTlvM
4gg2Z9UGOrA=
=ReYK
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
Regards, Jim Ray

 "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be
        changed until it is faced."  --  James Baldwin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PGP key Fingerprint  51 5D A2 C3 92 2C 56 BE  53 2D 9C A1 B3 50 C9 C8 
Key id. #  E9BD6D35  James Milton Ray   <liberty@gate.net>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Phil! email zldf@clark.net or see http://www.netresponse.com/zldf
_______________________________________________________________________

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article <199509201518.LAA78249@tequesta.gate.net>,
liberty@gate.net (Jim Ray) wrote:

> Pity they didn't ask about, "Tossing a credit card slip/carbon
> in the garbage." Dumpster-diving is still an effective, lo-tech
> attack.

Why worry about dumpster-diving?  Even credit card receipts on carbonless
NCR paper are prey to the hungry eyes of underpaid cashiers or the 
waiter who doesn't think you wrote in a big enough tip. 

A security scheme is no stronger than its weakest link.  Even with the
attack Goldberg and Wagner discovered on Netscape SSL, the weakest link
in credit card transactions lies elsewhere.  I find it curious that
USA TODAY didn't include over-the-counter credit card transactions in
its poll.

   Alan Bostick             | 
Seeking opportunity to      | If you don't like what you read in the news,
develop multimedia content. | go out and make some of your own.
Finger abostick@netcom.com  |      Scoop Nisker
for more info and PGP public key

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.1

iQB1AgUBMGCYtOVevBgtmhnpAQF6RgL/XrkCJe6v5v6rtUmWTgB27tSmcTTkoeGj
CXEQwDw5eHcxe0jfne/r2Y9wSkRZtb4psKIhwLDd3BxxuWhzdrhVcaTcInUV+gGo
t4i2Td883rejgqlA4xbPWcWtd5NPSC7U
=pi8V
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Re: The risk of credit cards.

I suppose that indeed there are large risks elsewhere in the credit
card system. However, I think that the credit card system itself is
stupid and insecure and ought to be scrapped -- sending around account
numbers as magic keys to get payment is a stupid move. Its not
suprising how large credit card fraud is.

One of the great hopes I have for cryptographic technology is its
ability to lower the incidence of fraud, and thus lower transaction
costs a lot. Someday, hopefully, everyone will be able to be a credit
card merchant because you won't have to trust the merchants not to
steal.

Perry