It is rather easy to imagine new forms of computer crime emerging as a result. For instance, judges will perhaps no longer make reference to printed statutes, relying instead on computer databases. It will then be essential to secure texts from forgery. The costs for CD-ROM fabrication have declined substantially. There are solutions, however.
Electronic seals can guarantee that a text conforms with the original.
Such seals link certain blocks of text to certain checksums. If a text suddenly adds up to the wrong checksum, then the text has been tampered with and is not to be trusted. A more difficult task is to define what an electronic publication really is or is not. The Online Journal of Clinical Trials, for instance, has no issues. The journal changes organically with each article added or deleted.