It may not be necessary to require IMs to Ack separately. The transform we currently allow excludes the nodes the IMs may modify in transit. These excluded nodes could have their own separate signature that signs only those things the IMs need modify (Via, Acknowledgement). (The signature information must be enveloped by they element it signs.) This way, the intermediate signature can be peeled away with out affecting any end-to-end signed information. Further, IMs may have the confidence they require in the information they are acting upon. Allowing this separate signature should not effect anything else. ============================================ Bruce Pedretti Hewlett-Packard Company Software Developer 6000 Irwin Road (856) 638-6060 Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054
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