- Frank Torres, legislative counsel for the Consumers Union, talking about recent US laws concerning digital signatures

There is a new U.S. based digital signatures law, which will take effect in October 2000. The law will make digital signatures legally binding, but does not specify an particular technology. So, the field is wide open, and filling up fast with companies like isignOnline inc. and onSign.com all boasting the most efficient and most secure signature technology.

But, what exactly is a "digital signature"? A digital signature guarantees that a document has not been altered, as if it were carried in an electronically-sealed envelope. The "signature" is an encrypted digest of the text that is sent with the text message. The recipient decrypts the signature digest and also recomputes the digest from the received text. If the digests match, the message is proved intact and tamper free from the sender.

A digital signature ensures that the document originated with the person signing it and that it was not tampered with after the signature was applied. However, the sender could still be an impersonator and not the person he or she claims to be. To verify that the message was indeed sent by the person claiming to send it requires a digital certificate (digital ID) which is issued by a certification authority. Source: CMP Net.

CyberSister's Comment

This is an interesting trend to watch. It's not as hip and trendy as Napster, or multimedia emails, etc.. but it's the kind of technology that can really change things. I think it will be slowly adapted over the next few years, as the industry shakes up a bit, but eventually, we will all be signing legal contracts online, making business ever more easy to transact over the web.

CyberSister's Comment

Digital Ripple, in response to our customer's needs, have been putting together a specialized, how-to privacy support kit. In partnership with Stuart Rennie & Associates, we are now taking pre-orders in our online store. Stay tuned for an upcoming press release!

Clayton Christensen, in his book "The Innovator's Dilemma" coined the phrase "disruptive technology" to describe an innovative technology that has the potential to dramatically shake up existing industries. A disruptive technology is somewhat stealth in its appearance. At first, only a few early-adapting types take notice of it, but eventually, like the steam engine, the radio, the printing press, it will cause dramatic changes and make/lose fortunes.

Consider some things we think are up-and-coming "disruptive technologies": changes to the power industry, distributed power and fuel cells, genetics, human/genome research (I think I'll start a DNA registration and exchange service over the Net, what do you think??), wireless devices, Internet appliances.

CyberSister's Comment:

Do you have a "disruptive technology" idea or invention? Digital Ripple can help with confidential business analysis, funding seeking activity, or digital support.

The Internet Advertising Bureau is a global not-for-profit association developed to maximize the use and effectiveness of advertising on the Internet It contains helpful information about online consumer protection, including privacy, security, and advertising guidelines. The site also contains helpful tools, discussion lists, and information exchange for online advertising, and marketing information on the Internet. A Cybersister recommendation!

A free e-mail newsletter from Michael Tchong, the creator of Cyberatlas, the online guide to web advertising. Now run by the "Business 2.0" group, it's sort of an inside glimpse into the e-commerce world. Lots of industry gossip mixed in with useful advertising and statistical info. To subscribe, send a message to majordomo@iconocast.com with the following command in the body: Subscribe inconocast. Another CyberSister favourite (we love to keep up with the gossip! :)

"Whenever you have a really large quantitative change, you begin to see a really large qualitative change in the way people think about things. We're not even going to be able to guess exactly what the applications are going to be two or three years from now, but we know it's going to change."

That's it for now! Have a great week!

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