From: Wesley Felter <wesf@mail.utexas.edu>
Date: Sat, 19 Jul 1997 02:52:47 +0800
To: <cypherpunks@Algebra.COM>
Subject: Re: mondex
Message-ID: <1342895971-8715296@mail.binarycompass.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



On 7/18/97 3:26 AM, Ryan Lackey said:

>Does anyone know how open the Mondex architecture is?  Is it in any way
>possible to set up a competing system with your own card manufacture
>and issuing bodies for currencies which can be used in deployed Mondex
>POS terminals without too much hassle?  Would this be analagous to the
>problem of replacing InterNIC with other NICs -- you need to make the
>user servers know to look at the rival systems and understand their 
>keys?

As I understand it, Mondex is a completely closed system. Everything that 
you don't absolutely need to know is undocumented. Since you can settle 
offline, the potential for fraud is frightening; unless I'm getting the 
benefit of these, um, weaknesses in the system, I don't want there to be 
any. The lack of privacy seems to be somewhat of a smokescreen; since you 
can settle offline, they don't have a really accurate way of tracking 
transactions except at the interface between e$ and other forms of money 
or goods (like their POS terminals and ATMs).

Can you hack Mondex? They say you can't...

Wesley Felter - wesley@binarycompass.com - Binary Compass Enterprises
In BizRate we trust - <http://www.bizrate.com/>
Disclaimer: My employer knows I'm crazy.