4 ms·

To avoid attracting their attention in the first place. They are not going to bother breaking every 256-bit-encrypted thing they see but as soon as they notice

To avoid attracting their attention in the first place. They are not going to bother breaking every 256-bit-encrypted thing they see but as soon as they notice something obviously 512-bit-encrypted they go beat the key out of you.

Drakim 5y ago
Quick question, if encrypted data looks like noise, how can you tell apart 256-bit encrypted noise and 512-bit encrypted noise?
- raxxorrax 5y ago
  I don't think you can with a decent crypt. In practice most encrypted containers come with metadata and a header describing the type of encryption since the assumption is that it can only be decrypted with a key anyway. If you forget encryption parameters, this can become difficult even if you have the key. In cryptanalysis it is normally assumed that the attacker knows the algorithm and encryption parameters aside the key.
- drran 5y ago
  It's dead simple: «You used encrypted connection today. It's encrypted with 10000024 bit key, which is forbidden by China. You can send your key to us to prove that you are innocent, or go to jail.»
prepend 5y ago
I would expect they are interested in me or don’t care. If they are interested, they routinely break all comms and notice 512. If they aren’t interested they won’t bother to break 8 bit. I’m not interesting so not an issue for me, but I would also assume that they can break much more than this and wouldn’t actually reveal their limit in such a policy. Kind of like how your boss quadruples your time estimate. If their policy says nothing over 256, then they likely have capability for more. But I’d expect that usually these pass phrases can be any length as they are all getting beaten out of us when needed.
- qwerty456127 5y ago
  > I would expect they are interested in me or don’t care. There are several degrees of interest. Essentially they are interested in everyone trying to hide anything from them and they probably understand people of real danger to them will do their best to look ordinary and mediocre. > If their policy says nothing over 256, then they likely have capability for more. Sounds reasonable but breaking 512 obviously is much harder than 256 and will take significant time and resources they don't really want to waste. They will rather force you to reveal the key and only break 512+ if they can't easily reach you physically or identify you in the first place.

Drakim 5y ago

Quick question, if encrypted data looks like noise, how can you tell apart 256-bit encrypted noise and 512-bit encrypted noise?

raxxorrax 5y ago
I don't think you can with a decent crypt. In practice most encrypted containers come with metadata and a header describing the type of encryption since the assumption is that it can only be decrypted with a key anyway. If you forget encryption parameters, this can become difficult even if you have the key. In cryptanalysis it is normally assumed that the attacker knows the algorithm and encryption parameters aside the key.
drran 5y ago
It's dead simple: «You used encrypted connection today. It's encrypted with 10000024 bit key, which is forbidden by China. You can send your key to us to prove that you are innocent, or go to jail.»

prepend 5y ago

I would expect they are interested in me or don’t care. If they are interested, they routinely break all comms and notice 512. If they aren’t interested they won’t bother to break 8 bit. I’m not interesting so not an issue for me, but I would also assume that they can break much more than this and wouldn’t actually reveal their limit in such a policy. Kind of like how your boss quadruples your time estimate. If their policy says nothing over 256, then they likely have capability for more. But I’d expect that usually these pass phrases can be any length as they are all getting beaten out of us when needed.

qwerty456127 5y ago
> I would expect they are interested in me or don’t care. There are several degrees of interest. Essentially they are interested in everyone trying to hide anything from them and they probably understand people of real danger to them will do their best to look ordinary and mediocre. > If their policy says nothing over 256, then they likely have capability for more. Sounds reasonable but breaking 512 obviously is much harder than 256 and will take significant time and resources they don't really want to waste. They will rather force you to reveal the key and only break 512+ if they can't easily reach you physically or identify you in the first place.