Dear all, we are happy to announce a new beta version of the RIPE DB. The major change in this release is the introduction of support for an additional authentication method, which in this case uses PGP. The previous authentication methods were NONE, MAIL-FROM and CRYPTPW. The new method is called PGPKEY and is described in draft-zsako-ripe-dbsec-pgp-authent-00.txt internet-draft (available at the usual places, eg. ftp.ripe.net). This draft reflects the work done by the RIPE Database Security Task Force up to this moment. The code is not available for download at this moment. There is a setup so users can experiment with it. * Queries can be done using a whois client pointed to the beta database at beta-whois.ripe.net port 43. * Updates can be sent to auto-beta@ripe.net The current setup contains only maintainer objects (a copy of the real ones as of yesterday) which are necessary to experiment. The draft is not yet fully implemented in this beta release (some checks are not done) but it allows operational experience. The code is beta quality and may have bugs. If you find any, please report them to ripe-dbm@ripe.net. The messages will however not be answered as fast as normal ripe-dbm. We will issue a new beta release soon and a final release is planned before RIPE31. Details about licensing PGP (free) for use with the RIPE Database will also be made public soon. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Happy testing, Joao Damas RIPE NCC