6 ms·

Not quite, IMO -- combination safes can be feasibly opened without the combination.

by trav4225 10y ago

paulddraper 10y ago
Encrypted drives can be opened without the password. Difficulty varies of course, but it can be done (e.g. iPhone).
- Buge 10y ago
  That was only because they chose a weak password. With a 100+ bit password, it's impossible.
  - CompuHacker 10y ago
    Improbable.
    - michaelmrose 10y ago
      When the average time to unlock is equal or greater to the probably heat death of the universe this distinction ceases to matter.
      - cmdrfred 10y ago
        You could also get it right on the first guess, so its improbable not impossible.
  - paulddraper 10y ago
    True, though 100 bit passwords are extremely uncommon. Even deadhorsebatterystaple claims to be less than 50.
- cesarb 10y ago
  > Encrypted drives can be opened without the password. No, they can't. The way it's done is by trying many passwords until the right one is found. Once you have the right password, you can use it to decrypt the drive's contents, but then you are "opening it with the password". (IIRC, there were some bad "hardware encryption" HDDs where the password wasn't actually used to encrypt the drive's contents, just verified against something in the drive's NVRAM; these can be bypassed. But that's not the case here.)
  - DanBC 10y ago
    > IIRC, there were some bad "hardware encryption" HDDs About those: http://www.h-online.com/security/features/Enclosed-but-not-encrypted-746199.html http://www.h-online.com/security/features/Enclosed-but-not-e... Sadly the images appear to be not working. But they were very clear: what should have been a point cloud had clear lines.
  - emidln 10y ago
    Yes they can. It's not my fault the government has access to shit hardware or that it'll take a really long time. Encryption is just a really big combination lock with a very long series of inputs.
  - paulddraper 10y ago
    I put you in a room with an encrypted drive and no password, and you will eventually be able to open the drive. That you acquire the password in the process of opening it is immaterial.

Not quite, IMO -- combination safes can be feasibly opened without the combination.

paulddraper 10y ago

Encrypted drives can be opened without the password. Difficulty varies of course, but it can be done (e.g. iPhone).

Buge 10y ago
That was only because they chose a weak password. With a 100+ bit password, it's impossible.
- CompuHacker 10y ago
  Improbable.
  - michaelmrose 10y ago
    When the average time to unlock is equal or greater to the probably heat death of the universe this distinction ceases to matter.
    - cmdrfred 10y ago
      You could also get it right on the first guess, so its improbable not impossible.
- paulddraper 10y ago
  True, though 100 bit passwords are extremely uncommon. Even deadhorsebatterystaple claims to be less than 50.
cesarb 10y ago
> Encrypted drives can be opened without the password. No, they can't. The way it's done is by trying many passwords until the right one is found. Once you have the right password, you can use it to decrypt the drive's contents, but then you are "opening it with the password". (IIRC, there were some bad "hardware encryption" HDDs where the password wasn't actually used to encrypt the drive's contents, just verified against something in the drive's NVRAM; these can be bypassed. But that's not the case here.)
- DanBC 10y ago
  > IIRC, there were some bad "hardware encryption" HDDs About those: http://www.h-online.com/security/features/Enclosed-but-not-encrypted-746199.html http://www.h-online.com/security/features/Enclosed-but-not-e... Sadly the images appear to be not working. But they were very clear: what should have been a point cloud had clear lines.
- emidln 10y ago
  Yes they can. It's not my fault the government has access to shit hardware or that it'll take a really long time. Encryption is just a really big combination lock with a very long series of inputs.
- paulddraper 10y ago
  I put you in a room with an encrypted drive and no password, and you will eventually be able to open the drive. That you acquire the password in the process of opening it is immaterial.