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Not Necessarily So
It is not necessarily so that "such tampering may be virtually undetectable to future readers". Once more, if encryption is properly used, then digital signatures will guarantee the authenticity of the data. This is why it is not only open file formats that are important, but open encryption/digital signature standards as well.

Even when digital signatures are not used, we already have such handy utilities as the "time machine" that allow us to check that the version we now see on the website matches what was shown earlier. So the current situation with digital records is not so radically different from that with printed matter, where tampering is also hard to detect after transcribing/copying/reprinting.

But if we would be as zealous in promoting open encryption standards as we are with open file formats, then the situation with digital records would actually be much better. Once it has been digitally signed, no tampering is possible.
Posted by: mejohnsn   Posted on: 07/04/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
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All of this Babble as an excuse to rant  No_Ax_to_Grind | 07/02/07
Did you even read the article?  Michael Kelly | 07/02/07
Read until I fell asleep  No_Ax_to_Grind | 07/02/07
It was very good reading, and points out a lot of the problems of  DonnieBoy | 07/02/07
A fancifull read, nothing more  John Zern | 07/02/07
Back up, back up, back up  LordLiverpool | 07/03/07
I agree 100% !  John Zern | 07/03/07
Best Practice; Move to New Media Types Regularly  dumptux | 07/03/07
Formats Should Worry You  mejohnsn | 07/04/07
The Issue Is Documented Open Standards  dumptux | 07/03/07
Not Really.  osreinstall | 07/03/07
Yes, Really  mejohnsn | 07/04/07
Never had a proprietary format problem.  osreinstall | 07/04/07
Microsoft Office is Only The Start  dumptux | 07/03/07
Standards can limit the immediate future  Patanjali | 07/03/07
Job getting you down ?  JeremyAllison | 07/03/07
How do you know?  Ole Man | 07/08/07
Histroy will always be the story told by  jacarter3 | 07/02/07
You've Never Studied "Lower Criticism", Have You?  dumptux | 07/03/07
Message has been deleted.  tracy anne | 07/04/07
Off Topic AND Off Kilter  mejohnsn | 07/04/07
Lower and Lowest;)  mejohnsn | 07/04/07
Did you learn your History from Cartoons?  mejohnsn | 07/04/07
Well, we will certainly have more archived from the current generation than  DonnieBoy | 07/02/07
Emulators and abandonware  scott1329 | 07/03/07
Borland Museum  tct | 07/03/07
Good article  Ivystung | 07/03/07
Not Necessarily So  mejohnsn | 07/04/07
They buried another...  Narg | 07/03/07
Birth, Marriage & Death Records (UK)  john.foggitt@... | 07/03/07
Which Reminds Me:  mejohnsn | 07/04/07
Cemetery 2.0  zmelkin | 07/03/07
Has a man ever been on the moon?  Mantvis | 07/09/07

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