Re: PREVIEW: bsign embeds hash and/or digital signature in ELF files

[Oscar Levi <elf@buici.com>]

On Mon, Dec 14, 1998 at 10:30:00AM -0500, Ben Pfaff wrote:
> Buddha Buck <bmbuck@acsu.buffalo.edu> writes:
> 
>    I see the situation as analogous to virtually any digital signature 
>    situation:  email, Debian packages, etc.  In order for someone to 
>    modify the signed element surrupticiously, they would have to have 
>    write access to the object being signed, and access to the private key 
>    of the signatory.
> 
> Where is the key used for verifying signatures stored?  On the system
> somewhere, presumably.  An attacker can substitute a different key as
> well as recalculate signatures.  
> 
> Is this the weakness that people are implying exists?

I'm not sure that the complaints are that specific.  It should be
apparent to all of us who are debian developers that our private key
is one of the most valuable digital assets we each control.  The
security of public keys is just as important as the security of
private keys.  IIRC, Phil Z. says that they're MORE important to keep
secure since one is then suceptible to being duped.