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Comment by phkahler | Hacker News Reader

I keep thinking these two things are related: 1) reliable identity 2) good security.

If you had a reliable identity - well implemented private key crypto or signatures, or perhaps just a fixed IP address - Communications protocols could be created that don't allow anonymous communication. You don't provide identity and they won't accept messages. The thing is, this would also allow private communications which neither corporations or governments want to happen.

So the internet will remain insecure so long as companies want to read your stuff for "ad targeting" and governments want to read your stuff to "stop crime". Got that last part?

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There is no connection between CryptoLocker and ad targeting. What you're proposing would do very little to thwart tracking (imho strong identities would make it easier) and completely kill the open Internet where I can send and receive information from people I don't know, maybe even people I wouldn't want to know otherwise.

Just using public key crypto allows anyone to communicate securely with anyone else - including people you don't know. If you have end-to-end security, your communication can't be read and you can verify who a message or threat came from. It's all good with the exception of 3rd party listening. It's probably easier to see that data went from one person to another (which is no change) but that doesn't tell you what the data is (which is a big change).

I don't know why people don't seem to understand this. Or perhaps the lack of understanding is why it's not here.

I think you're confusing two entirely different kinds of "reliable identity".

1. "I am Bob."

2. "I am not anybody besides Bob."

The default natural state of human societies is that people have multiple, contextual, even ad-hoc identities.

Well, we already have botnets, so such a scheme can't possibly work (especially if there are public channels, such as IRC or Twitter etc. to control them).

When you require a traceable signature of where software comes from, botnets become less of a problem. Remember, it's mostly criminal activity that is anonymous today. And that's my point, the same technology that removes anonymity also enables secure communication - hence we won't be getting it.

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