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I challenge him to describe what an encryption backdoor actually is. Its like putting a hidden switch behind a brick in a wall. The brick looks the same, but if
by Topgamer7 7y ago
I challenge him to describe what an encryption backdoor actually is. Its like putting a hidden switch behind a brick in a wall. The brick looks the same, but if you take the time to knock on every brick, you'll eventually find the button. Every moderately powerful nations will have someone out there knocking on the bricks.
- teunispeters 7y agoDitto larger and more organized criminal organizations.
- HeWhoLurksLate 7y agoI'm going to add that toddlers [teenagers / lone wolves] will also try knocking on bricks if they see their parents [governments] doing so successfully.
- coolspot 7y agoProbably something like this: https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2018/04/26/a-few-thoughts-on-ray-ozzies-clear-proposal/ https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2018/04/26/a-few-th... I believe this is how Australia is going to have their backdoors.
- crispyporkbites 7y agoThat's a nice analogy, but it's still an analogy. It's easy for someone to come along and modify the analogy to fit their purpose e.g. "we'll have someone watch the wall of bricks so no one can knock on them!" We simply can't let people legislate on issues they fundamentally don't understand. And understanding a backdoor is actually not that difficult - a smart, motivated person could literally learn the theory of this with some practical examples in a few hours of study.
- all_blue_chucks 7y agoIt takes a prohibitively long time to knock on 2^256 bricks. The real risks aren't from the crypto; they're from the humans who have access to the back door. Can they be trusted? Can they be compromised? That's not to mention the business damage this would cause. The US is trying to block Huawei products due to back doors. Other countries will block US products if the US government starts requiring back doors.
- LinuxBender 7y ago> It takes a prohibitively long time to knock on 2^256 bricks This assumes you have to knock on 2^256 bricks and not just wiggle the mortar free in one spot. WEP wifi encryption is an example of an implementation failure vs. theoretical time to brute force the encryption.
- jstanley 7y agoYou're right, but the answer to encryption backdoors can't be "we don't think you'll make good enough backdoors". Even if the backdoor can't be opened by anything other than acquiring the government key, it's still not acceptable.
- LinuxBender 7y agoYup, in fact that's my point. No matter how good the encryption or implementation is, there will always be a weak link and someone that finds a way in. For some people, its a fun challenge and bragging rights. For others, it's profit.
- cannonedhamster 7y agoGPUs have been shown to be very good at complex math problems. A nation state with unlimited money could find a weakness built into crypto in a matter of days at most. A bored hacker would probably find it in a few hours.
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- all_blue_chucks 7y agoYou've been watching too much TV. Actual encryption primitives are often used with keys that would require a computer the size of the solarsystem to brute force. Bored hackers and nation states do not have such computers, no matter how well they are funded.
- lonelappde 7y agoA backdoor isn't just an entry point. Its a m architecture. A vulnerability like the the exhaust vent on the Death Star plus a detonator custom built to blow the whole thing up, and then hoping that no one misused this thing that shouldn't even exist.