Dissertation Research: Building the European Trust Infrastructure: An Ethnography of Lawyers, Scientists, and Regulators

最近全球计算机网络的爆炸性增长，以及随之而来的为全球电子商务迅速建立法律、技术和监管基础的压力，正在带来对签名和货币等久经考验的法律和社会交换工具的重新定义。该项目通过密码学家、律师和监管机构的跨学科合作，记录了欧洲电子安全基础设施的建设。所采用的方法论是受批判理论关注的民族志。这项研究涉及对目前在这一领域工作的密码学家、律师和监管机构的采访。要探讨的关注领域包括：认证技术、对诉讼和立法倡议的认识以及使用认证技术的经验。调查人员除了收集和分析采访数据外，还将审查科学论文、会议记录、手册、专利和其他当代专家对安全问题思考的书面标记。这项研究的目的是扩大公众对电子安全的讨论，摆脱目前对隐私的狭隘关注，并改进密码学的构思和使用方式。

The recent explosion of global computer networks, and the ensuing pressure to rapidly establish the legal, technological, and regulatory basis for global electronic commerce, is bringing about the redefinition of time-tested legal and social instruments of exchange, such as signatures and money. This project documents the construction of the European electronic security infrastructure by an interdisciplinary collaboration of cryptologists, lawyers, and regulators. The methodology to be employed is ethnography informed by the concerns of critical theory. The research involves interviews with cryptologists, lawyers, and regulators who are currently working in this area. Areas of concern to be explored include: authentication technologies, awareness of litigation and legislative initiatives, and experience of using authentication technologies. The investigator, in addition to gathering and analyzing interview data, will also examine scientific papers, conference proceedings, manuals, patents, and other written indicia of contemporary expert thinking about security concerns. The objective of this research is to broaden public discourse over electronic security from its current narrow focus on privacy and to improve how cryptology is conceived and engaged.