From: don@cs.byu.edu
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 96 00:12:57 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Internet Privacy Guaranteed ad (POTP Jr.)
In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSD/.3.91.960220184124.18188A-100000@citrine.cyberstation.net>
Message-ID: <199602210807.BAA00723@wero.cs.byu.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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> > Do we have to show an exploitable flaw? Or we have to do the exploit? That
> > might be expensive. Who would judge the contest?
> > 
> > The alogrithm aside, IPG provides the intial OTP. Seems to me that IPG can
> > read the messages. End of story.
> > 
> Hedging, hedging, hedging - why? I did not noitice this in my first 

I think he meant that it might cost him several $10000 in computing time to
actually demonstrate a flaw, should it be found. Proving the flaw exists
should be enough. If a company really needs unbreakable encryption, a few
hundred thou isn't too much for an attacker to pay for million dollar secrets.
On the other hand, it would be quite a bit for an individual to come up with,
just to illustrate a point.

And this thing about keeping a copy of the one-time-pad, now just why is it
that you need to at all?? After all, if it doesn't arrive safely, then who
knows who has it... And if so, then you don't need a copy that could, say,
accidently get smuggled out and sold to [foreign government, domestic
covernment, competitor, curious onlooker - pick one] for the right sum of
money.

For your next version, you might want to add in the capability for a slight
remixing of the random pool at both ends (a passphrase, for example)
protected by secure-hashing properly-sized chunks. There's nothing like
being able to lock the door behind you, ya know...

Don
- -- 
<don@cs.byu.edu>           fRee cRyPTo!   jOin the hUnt or BE tHe PrEY
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