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Re: GnuPG.. have you ever wondered?

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__/ [ Mathew P. ] on Thursday 09 March 2006 00:34 \__

> On 2006-03-08, Roy Schestowitz spake thusly:
> 
> - -----------------8<-----------------------------
> 
>>> Since the time of free software that
>>> provided very strong encryption, such
>>> as block ciphers, (blowfish, Twofish,
>>> Etc.) it has always seemed curious,
>>> no, downright puzzling to me, that
>>> terrorist cells, and criminals apparently
>>> weren't taking advantage of such obviously
>>> good tools for their operations. That isn't
>>> to say that there aren't bad guys out there
>>> that are using them. But from time to time
>>> there are stories in print and T.V. that
>>> are almost without credibiliy, of
>>> say, Al Quida (sp?) communicating via plain
>>> text email which is intercepted by U.S.
>>> intelligence. Unless they intended to plant
>>> disinformation, (which I assume an intelligence
>>> agency could sniff out), Why would they be
>>> so stupid as to send this kind of information
>>> in email that was unencrypted?
>>
>>
>> I think your answer is contained in the question, which makes it
>> rhetorical.
> 
> Really? I thought it was a legit question. I don't seen
> anything rhetorical about it. Would you clarify?
> What part of the above were you referring to?


The part where you say "so stupid". *smile*


> - --------------------8<-----------------------
> 
>>> To be honest, Linux is about the only OS
>>> I would feel comfortable trusting encryption
>>> tasks with. Open source makes it impossible
>>> to hide whether or not the ciphers are weak, have
>>> back doors, or the OS (read vendor) is leaving
>>> itself a way to access your data. It also
>>> gaurantees that the cipher dosen't rely on
>>> code obfuscation for it's strength, since that
>>> is no strength at all. This is why the guru of
>>> encryption, Bruce Schneier, released blowfish
>>> (and I think, twofish) in source code form.
>>> They have never been cracked, and some
>>> pretty brilliant people have been trying
>>> for a very long time. I think that says
>>> something for open source, (and Mr. Schneier)
>>> and not seeking to hide your code from others
>>> (like that's possible). This is why Linux is
>>> perfect for this particular application.
>>
>>
>> What worries me is that such observations might also slow down adoption by
>> governments.
>>
>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4713018.stm
> 
> Good link, thank you. I think that Microsofts embedded
> encryption scheme is going to blow up in their face.
> Their really important revenue is businesses, and
> that market is not naive to the ramifications of
> an OS that encrypts information in such a way that
> there is a back door only microsoft can get at. As for
> motherboard hard support, I seriously doubt manufacturers
> are going to make those kinds of concessions to support
> microsoft; Microsoft has leverage, but there is a limit
> to their Mojo. As for government pressure, there are
> a lot of high $ lobbyists that don't want to see that
> kind of control implemented in the design of
> their products. This is a blatent attempt by
> Microsoft to see to it that no OS besides windows
> can be used with any computer. Historically, this
> kind of hardware encoding has only *temporarily*
> slowed down the intended effect. Anyone remember
> the uproar that ensued after DVD encoding was
> cracked? The hayday of Microsoft dominance is coming to
> an end. They are hanging on for dear life, and
> they know it.  This is just a new twist that
> is doomed to failure. The more they try to control
> the market, the more it slips through their fingers.


Every crocodile fights before it sinks.

Best wishes,

Roy

- -- 
Roy S. Schestowitz      |    make install -not war
http://Schestowitz.com  |    SuSE Linux     |     PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
  4:40am  up  21:17,  7 users,  load average: 0.89, 0.72, 0.74
      http://iuron.com - next generation of search paradigms
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