From: root <root@einstein.ssz.com>
Date: Mon, 6 Feb 95 20:23:16 PST
To: jrochkin@cs.oberlin.edu (Jonathan Rochkind)
Subject: Re: dna ink
In-Reply-To: <ab5ca280040210043eb1@[132.162.201.201]>
Message-ID: <199502070417.WAA01434@einstein.ssz.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text


> 
> Something I've been is: Why can't one of your enemies just get a piece of
> your hair or fingernails or something, and make their own DNA ink our of
> 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?]
> 
> 
This is the same problem that arose with the original idea of seals once
the skills of metalworking became commen enough. By the 1500's it was
nearly impossible to keep a seal confidential more than a few weeks until
somebody got a impression and built a copy.