The Thawte Web of Trust
I am a Notary for the Thawte Web of Trust, able to grant 35 points, and Thawte were kind enough to name me Notary of the Month for February 2001. To contact me, please e-mail.
Thawte Web of Trust Discussion Facility
You may be interested to hear about a discussion facility I have set up. I manage a discussion list intended for general discussion about the Web of Trust and related topics. You can sign up at http://lists.securitygremlin.com/mailman/listinfo/thawtewot, or by sending an e-mail to thawtewot-subscribe@securitygremlin.com. If you have any queries about the list, you can contact me via my feedback form.
The list's membership includes several Web of Trust Notaries, as well as several Thawte personnel, so pretty much any question to the list will receive an answer.
Topics of discussion are wide-ranging; the list's intention is to provide a place for anyone interested in the Web of Trust to share ideas and thoughts, discuss issues and questions, and generally promote the WoT's message. We look forward to welcoming you there!
Discussion Facility for UK Notaries
Additionally, there is another discussion group for UK Notaries (currently - discussion is in progress about whether to open it up to international Notaries) - it is hosted by Yahoo! eGroups - for further information, or to sign up, visit the home page.
Thawte Personal Cert Members
If you are already a member of Thawte's Personal Cert scheme, and have an ID to log on to their site, you can view my Notary record in the Directory under Hertfordshire, although I am also able to Notarise within the City of London (see below for more information).
Non-members
So why join the Thawte Personal Cert System? Well, I could not attempt to explain the advantages better than Thawte themselves, but in essence, joining the system has several benefits, including:
- Secure your e-mail with S/MIME encryption through the use of free certificates - many other certificate publishers will charge a fair amount for this. If you're wondering why you might want this, have a look at Christian Barmala's excellent article on the topic.
- Positively identify yourself in the digital world, especially in authentication with Web servers
- Join the Web of Trust, enabling you to use your name in your certificates, and prove that your identity has been assured by more than one other individual, based on photographic national identity documents
- Taking this further, you can become a Web of Trust Notary, allowing you to perform identity assertions, building an online community of individuals whose identities are guaranteed
Notarisation Requirements
In order to have your identity assured by me, you will need to meet me with all of the following:
- A government-issued form of identification bearing the number you used when you registered with the Thawte Personal Cert system (the 'National Identification Code (NIC)'). This could be your passport number, your driving licence number, your National Insurance number (in which case I would need to see your National Insurance card or official notification of the number from the Inland Revenue or Contributions Agency), etc.
- A government-issued form of identification bearing your photograph (e.g. a new-style driver's licence or a passport)
- Photocopies of all identity documents shown
Essentially, notarisation involves confirmation that you are who you say you are, and that your registration details for the Thawte Personal Cert system are verified. Note that you do not have to limit your identity documents to the above - the more documents the better! However, you will have noticed that there is one form of identity which could, in some cases, be the only one you require - if your Thawte NIC is your passport number, then it, along with the required photocopy, will suffice as it satisfies all of the main criteria.
As an extra service, if you are a PGP user, then I will sign your key as part of the process - let me know when we meet, preferably with your Key ID (if it is available on public Keyservers).
Where do I Notarise?
As mentioned above, there are two locations I can arrange a meeting in:
- Tring - I live here, and will usually meet at the Rose & Crown hotel. Additionally, if you can get yourself to Tring, I may be able to arrange for you to also be Notarised by a number of other fairly local notaries, potentially making you a Notary in one meeting.
- City of London - I work here most of the time. Contact me to discuss a suitable location.
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