From: "James A. Donald" <jamesd@netcom.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Dec 94 11:48:59 PST
To: Hadmut Danisch <danisch@ira.uka.de>
Subject: Re: Why I have a 512 bit PGP key
In-Reply-To: <9412281707.AA20289@elysion.iaks.ira.uka.de>
Message-ID: <Pine.3.89.9412281121.A26685-0100000@netcom10>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


On Wed, 28 Dec 1994, Hadmut Danisch wrote:
> 
> If the government wants to attack software like pgp it would be
> easier to modify compilers than modifying the crypto sources.
> 

A compiler can recognize one specific piece of code or a few 
specific peices of code and do something perverse.  It cannot 
recognize functionally equivalent code, this
being a high order artificial intelligence problem.

Thus if someone used a perverted compiler to develop, debug, and
enhance the targe code, he would immediately discover the compiler
was perverted.

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
We have the right to defend ourselves and our
property, because of the kind of animals that we        James A. Donald
are.  True law derives from this right, not from
the arbitrary power of the omnipotent state.            jamesd@netcom.com