A plan for running PGP key signing parties in Australia.

This idea is proposed in the hope that Australian PGP users signing each other’s keys, when done securely, would strengthen the PGP web of trust in Australia and enable secure interactions between people in Australia. Applications of PGP use may include secure communication, secure file sharing and enabling integrity checking of software.

This idea assumes that PGP software can be securely obtained even in the existence of TAR, TAN, TCN, CAW and other legal instruments, and that a non-significant number of PGP users would be compromised by such legal instruments. If these assumptions hold, a stronger PGP web of trust would aid the applications of PGP use even with the existence of such legal instruments.

The success of this requires that people know how to use PGP securely and to verify other people’s identities and PGP keys properly. Furthermore, given the existence of malicious actors and that people would be meeting face to face, the security of PGP key signing parties should also be considered, possibly by a policy of vetting people before inviting them.