From: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Sat, 24 Jan 1998 00:12:03 +0800
To: Adam Shostack <ryan@michonline.com
Subject: Re: Misty???
In-Reply-To: <Pine.GSO.3.95.980122154534.24995a-100000@king>
Message-ID: <v03102804b0ee6ec1b45e@[207.167.93.63]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



At 7:00 AM -0800 1/23/98, Adam Shostack wrote:
>Ryan Anderson wrote:
>| > Someone on the OpenPGP list was asking for an asignment for an algorithm
>| > id in the OpenPGP RFC for Misty1 (from Japan whoda thought <g>). I made my
>| > post about snake-oil and got chastised by hal@pgp.com as he seems to think
>| > it's a respectable algorithm:
>|
>| Well, he said that he wasn't aware of any serious cryptanalysis,
>| specifically on this list.  In all honesty, that's a fully truthful
>| statement.  Tim May has conveniently confirmed that there *has* been some
>| real cryptanalysis on it, confirming that it's not a good algorithm, but
>| it's not snake-oil.  (If it get's submitted for peer review, can you
>| really call it that?)
>
>Tim has admitted that he made a mistake.  I'll offer $25 to the first
>person who sends me a URL or paper reference to something published by
>Jan 1, 1998 offering an interesting cryptanlysis of Misty, because I'm
>tired of seeing people pick on it because of Nobuki's poor English.

Yes, I was thinking of FEAL. And even FEAL was not "snake oil," in that the
inventors of it were not trying to use deception to promote it. (I consider
this to be part of what "snake oil" is.)

My comments to Nobuki-san are lighthearted jokes about his "You send me
money, I send you Misty" repeated nonsense. I doubt the guy is even
actually Japanese, for various reasons.

--Tim May


The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^2,976,221   | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."