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The decryption key doesn't construct data anymore than the combination to a safe constructs the papers inside it. The data exist independently of anyone's abili
by mahadri 15y ago
The decryption key doesn't construct data anymore than the combination to a safe constructs the papers inside it. The data exist independently of anyone's ability to read them.
- Groxx 15y agoWhat does that mean for XORing your data with an equal-sized chunk of truly random data (pulled from, say, http://www.random.org/ http://www.random.org/ )? From an information standpoint, the data is gone because the result is also truly random, and doesn't exist any more except in the combination of the output and the key.
- campnic 15y agoI disagree. It is entirely possible to have a set of bits the can be 'decrypted' with different keys producing different results. One key might produce a set of cartoon pictures, another might produce financial records. The simple safe analogy seems to break down around this. Only one key unlocks a safe. Every key can be used to decrypt something that is encrypted, but unlike a safe, its not guaranteed what goes in comes out. I would argue that the data only exists if it can be read and that providing a mechanism for reading the data is establishing the existence of the data.