It's a dark and sobering read, but John Walker's Digital Imprimatur is a fascinating look at what the Internet will become in the not-so-distant future. I think that it's somewhat of a cautionary tale--exaggerated to some degree to reinforce its thesis. I personally don't believe that we will agree on a central authority for the kind of "Secure Internet" that Walker forsees. The problem with that system is that if the central authority is compromised, fraud and destruction on a truly massive scale can occur in seconds. Today, by virtue of our balkanized planet, the . . . (continued)