The subject ?¬?eld usually contains other info that
A system can be
cryptographically
strong, but it will
not be effective if
the end users don??™t
understand it
The Babel of Web User Interfaces 83
could be useful for identi?¬?cation, such as the geographic location
of the company it was awarded to. There is also information
about the certi?¬?cate-issuing authority, again useful for
assessing the level of trust that a certain website deserves.
Unfortunately, the last three or four sentences are all gibberish
for the vast majority of users. Try to explain this to somebody
who does not work in the IT industry, and be prepared to be
rewarded by a blank stare. Certi?¬?cates as they are used today
require an understanding of the Internet, both in term of technology
and in terms of reputation of the main certi?¬?cation authorities,
an understanding users not belonging to the technorati
elite simply don??™t possess. This state of being is not an accident
or a temporary condition. Although it is legitimate to hope for
heightened sensibility toward security in the general public in
the future, making the Internet dif?¬?cult to use needlessly limits
access to one of the most formidable resources available to
mankind.
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