From: sdw@lig.net (Stephen D. Williams)
Date: Mon, 6 Feb 95 21:01:19 PST
To: jrochkin@cs.oberlin.edu (Jonathan Rochkind)
Subject: Re: dna ink
In-Reply-To: <ab5ca280040210043eb1@[132.162.201.201]>
Message-ID: <m0rbdOC-0009tFC@sdwsys>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


...
> your DNA?  They could probably even send it to this DNA ink company, and
> they'd make your enemy ink out of your own DNA without even noticing.
> Doesn't seem very secure to me.
> 
> [Yeah, it's not crypto related, but I've been wondering about this since
> the topic was first brought up, and am somewhat surprised that of the few
> messages there were making fun of the DNA ink,  none mentioned this fact.
> Is that because it's too obvious to mention, or is there something I'm not
> thinking about which makes DNA ink useful after all?]
> 

A much more interesting spin on this would be a variety of ways to encode
throughout a substance in an inert but permanent way a public key.

Whether it's an easily identifiable molecule or some type of deep etching,
you could do things like mark all the parts of a car or all the paint,
fabric, plastic, etc. of a work of art.

DNA isn't very good really since it's mostly the same and based a lot
on probabilities.

sdw
-- 
Stephen D. Williams    25Feb1965 VW,OH      sdw@lig.net http://www.lig.net/sdw
Senior Consultant    513-865-9599 FAX/LIG   513.496.5223 OH Page BA Aug94-Feb95
OO R&D AI:NN/ES crypto     By Buggy: 2464 Rosina Dr., Miamisburg, OH 45342-6430
Firewall/WWW srvrs ICBM/GPS: 39 38 34N 84 17 12W home, 37 58 41N 122 01 48W wrk
Pres.: Concinnous Consulting,Inc.;SDW Systems;Local Internet Gateway Co.28Jan95