delvingbitcoin

Bolt 12 Trusted Contacts

Bolt 12 Trusted Contacts

Original Postby David Harding

Posted on: August 5, 2024 20:53 UTC

The inquiry revolves around the necessity of employing cryptographic methods for the mutual authentication process during monetary transactions between individuals, such as when Alice wishes to send money to Bob and wants to ensure that Bob recognizes the payment as coming from her.

The suggestion put forth involves adding a simple text from field within the encrypted message to identify the sender to the recipient. This approach raises questions regarding its security, specifically whether it could enable a third party to impersonate the sender by falsely claiming to be someone they are not, like Alice in this scenario. Despite this potential vulnerability, the person posing the question sees a possible beneficial application for this feature. They highlight a personal experience where making payments on behalf of others is common, such as ordering food for someone else to pick up, suggesting that the ability to specify the name of the actual payer in the from field could be advantageous.

This discussion points towards a broader consideration of the balance between convenience and security in digital transactions. The aspect of mutual authentication is crucial for ensuring trust and integrity in financial exchanges online, yet there’s an acknowledgment of scenarios where flexibility in representing the payer's identity could enhance the user experience. This reflects a nuanced perspective on designing payment systems that cater to varying needs for authentication and representation of parties involved in a transaction.