From: Frank Stuart <fstuart@vetmed.auburn.edu>
Date: Thu, 18 Jan 96 08:53:09 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Ozzie Apes Jim Clark, Fix Is In to Cave and Cry
Message-ID: <199601181652.KAA13172@snoopy.vetmed.auburn.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>Wall Street Journal, Jan 18, 1996
>
>IBM Compromises on Encryption Keys, U.S. Allows Export of
>More-Secure Notes
[...]
>The new overseas version of Notes, tagged Release 4, will give
>foreign users 64-bit security. But to get permission to export
>the software, Lotus agreed to give the government access to 24
>of those bits by using a special 24-bit key supplied by the
                        ^
>National Security Agency.
[...]

Does anyone know if there really is just one 24-bit key for every copy of
Lotus Notes or is this a miscommunication?  If there really is just one 24-bit
key for everyone, can't you just look for the bits that don't change among
different 64 bit keys?  (e.g. AND a "sufficiently large" number of 64-bit keys
together to find the 1's that don't change and then OR them to find the 0's
until you've got the 24 bit key).  Someone, please tell me that's not how it
works (or post the 24-bit key  :>).

                          | (Douglas) Hofstadter's Law:
Frank Stuart              | It always takes longer than you expect, even 
fstuart@vetmed.auburn.edu | when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.