The intriguing use of an outer archive is that it can be used to contain any
kind of inner archive, so it is a valuable provision in general packaging.
It also occurred to me that this could be used to encrypt standalone XML
documents, including the single-XML-file OpenDocument format. It is
relatively easy to sign that document using XML Dsig already, although we
don't address that prospect in the ODF specification.
Just thinking out loud.
- Dennis
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Standards are arbitrary solutions to recurring problems (R. W. Bemer)
Although not by becoming the recurring problem (orcmid).
When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.
-----Original Message-----
From: David LeBlanc [mailto:]
Sent: Monday, May 10, 2010 14:46
To: ODF TC List ()
Subject: [office] What to do about encryption?
We also need to do something with encryption, as well - the existing
approach has a number of problems.
[ ... ]
How to fix it:
Use an outer archive to contain the inner archive. The outer archive is
itself a valid ODF file, and contains:
1) Encryption information (you could put this in the metadata as you do now,
or could make a separate file)
2) Benign metadata (optional)
3) Dummy files (optional)
[ ... ]
