%0 Thesis %1 Rea_1996 %A Reagle, Joseph M. %D 1996 %K cryptography trust %T Trust in a Cryptographic Economy and Digital Security Deposits: Protocols and Policies %U http://reagle.org/joseph/1996/commerce/thesis/thesis.html %X The richness and complexity of actions an Internet user may perform may soon match, or exceed, the capabilities of that person's interactions in the physical world. Transactions involving information retrieval and processing for medical, financial, professional, or entertainment purposes will exist upon a – hopefully – secure infrastructure. However, even if all underlying protocols are sound, this does not ensure that transactions in this environment are free of risk. Methods for managing the amount of risk one takes, and the amount of trust one extends to others, are still required. Historically, formal trust relationships are represented by financial and legal instruments. A contractual obligation contingent on the recovery of a security deposit demonstrates both the “encoding” of the relationship, and the incentives for compliance with (or the lack of betrayal of) that relationship. This thesis hypothesizes that many of the contemporary instruments for dealing with trust can be implemented in digital form – with perhaps greater efficacy. To accomplish this, I first focus on the concept of trust: what is trust, and how is trust represented and evaluated in the real world. I then examine how trust is represented on today's Internet, and how can trust be managed in such an environment in the near future. I argue that trust will be managed in three ways, by: a) using traditional methods like credit scoring, financial instruments, and accounting for risk in the cost of the service, b) developing cryptographic protocols which limit the need for trust, and c) displacing the risk and the direction of the trust relationships from one agent to another. Furthermore, I provide an analysis of a security deposit protocol which accomplishes (c). I conclude by focusing on policy makers’ confusion of the historical instance of a financial or trust management instrument (tool) with the operational qualities of such tools. I also address how this can affect the development of efficient tools – and consequently the market which would be dependent upon them.

@mastersthesis{Rea_1996, abstract = {The richness and complexity of actions an Internet user may perform may soon match, or exceed, the capabilities of that person's interactions in the physical world. Transactions involving information retrieval and processing for medical, financial, professional, or entertainment purposes will exist upon a – hopefully – secure infrastructure. However, even if all underlying protocols are sound, this does not ensure that transactions in this environment are free of risk. Methods for managing the amount of risk one takes, and the amount of trust one extends to others, are still required. Historically, formal trust relationships are represented by financial and legal instruments. A contractual obligation contingent on the recovery of a security deposit demonstrates both the “encoding” of the relationship, and the incentives for compliance with (or the lack of betrayal of) that relationship. This thesis hypothesizes that many of the contemporary instruments for dealing with trust can be implemented in digital form – with perhaps greater efficacy. To accomplish this, I first focus on the concept of trust: what is trust, and how is trust represented and evaluated in the real world. I then examine how trust is represented on today's Internet, and how can trust be managed in such an environment in the near future. I argue that trust will be managed in three ways, by: a) using traditional methods like credit scoring, financial instruments, and accounting for risk in the cost of the service, b) developing cryptographic protocols which limit the need for trust, and c) displacing the risk and the direction of the trust relationships from one agent to another. Furthermore, I provide an analysis of a security deposit protocol which accomplishes (c). I conclude by focusing on policy makers’ confusion of the historical instance of a financial or trust management instrument (tool) with the operational qualities of such tools. I also address how this can affect the development of efficient tools – and consequently the market which would be dependent upon them.}, added-at = {2008-07-17T17:49:05.000+0200}, author = {Reagle, Joseph M.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/23971e7f64f638ae920f6146fc301d08b/dawinci}, interhash = {fa34393ae3f2ae26c26933284c9b226c}, intrahash = {3971e7f64f638ae920f6146fc301d08b}, keywords = {cryptography trust}, month = May, school = {Massachusetts Institute of Technology}, timestamp = {2008-07-17T17:49:06.000+0200}, title = {Trust in a Cryptographic Economy and Digital Security Deposits: Protocols and Policies}, url = {http://reagle.org/joseph/1996/commerce/thesis/thesis.html}, year = 1996 }