Hi there, I'm working on a Kickstarter right now that aims to popularize smart cards as an easier way for the average user to adopt GnuPG.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joeycastillo/signet-simple-online-privacy-cards Putting aside any security benefits, smart cards seem simpler to use for the average person. Unlocking a card with a PIN is a metaphor that people already know and use with bank cards. Choosing and memorizing a strong passphrase, by comparison, is something the average user is likely to have trouble with. Moreover, we're a multi-screen environment now; people expect to have access to their stuff across devices. With a smart card they can keep their secret keys in one place, as opposed to creating multiple points of potential compromise. Plus by integrating NFC technology, we open up the potential for use on smartphones and tablets, which is where most people's computing is moving anyway. Of course smart cards aren't some kind of magic bullet, but if the goal is to drive wider adoption of GnuPG and OpenPGP based cryptography, I can't shake the feeling that smart cards are a huge part of the answer. Thoughts? -- Joey Castillo www.joeycastillo.com _______________________________________________ Gnupg-users mailing list Gnupg-users@gnupg.org http://lists.gnupg.org/mailman/listinfo/gnupg-users
