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M-427 Russian online/offline encryption device reportedly seized in Ukraine
- free-malloc 5y agoWhat cipher does the machine use?
- eternityforest 5y agoWhat good is EMP resistance? Wouldn't an EMP trash any networks on which to use this? Or do they have similarly analog lines still up?
- aerostable_slug 5y agoOne could hand off the messages to a Morse operator (or what have you) on just about any network, to include some set up after major EMP events, survivors of the events, or some immune to their effects — e.g. print the message out and send it by carrier pigeon or runner, use a heliograph [0], etc. The important thing is that your encryptor still works. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliograph https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliograph
- belter 5y agoIf there was Internet during the Second World War, we would have the Enigma machine captors, posting selfies on Twitter 10 min after...get a grip guys.
- cafard 5y agoActually, you had the Chicago Tribune revealing that the US had cracked the Japanese naval code before Midway. Fortunately, the Japanese took this for mere boasting.
- Friday_ 5y agoCan someone explain, how can this be used over unsecure networks. You still have metadata leak. Right? Operator knows exactly who is talking to whom(?) An sees that it is encrypted, then just prevents communication or sends someone to location.
- Arnt 5y agoYes, you have a metadata leak. But you can send an urgent request for more … without revealing exactly what you're running out of.
- selfhoster11 5y agoIf the idea is to transmit a planned time to initiate an offensive, or some other orders that will not be carried out immediately, then it certainly makes sense.
- randomhodler84 5y agoRight. Block and stream Ciphers themselves can only protect message content. The leak the message length and any peer metadata during the exchange. A perfect cipher produces a message that is indistinguishable from randomness, and can encode all possible messages. This is an intrinsic problem, when we want to hide the cipher texts existence, we usually call that steganography which is a different class of problem. Likewise, hiding the communication graph or message length is more akin to mixnets and anonymity networks/routing. It’s three classes of problems, of which encryption is the base layer, but we need more constructions to achieve the other layers.
- jaimex2 5y agoOn 10 March 2022, photographs of an M-427 unit surfaced on the internet, allegedly confiscated by Ukraine from a seized Russian command post near Kiev (Ukraine) [1][2]. It is currently unclear whether this is indeed the case, or whether this is misinformation.
- ilamont 5y agoIf it's misinformation, what's the goal? To show that the Russian military is using somewhat dated battlefield comms equipment?
- yladiz 5y agoTo further sow discord and demoralize Russia's military, most likely.
- throwmeariver1 5y agoThe tech is not outdated.
- JudasGoat 5y agoOne of the pictures show a rotary dial phone. Presumably what this interfaces with.
- throwmeariver1 5y agoIt's like saying my new Macbook Pro is outdated because it uses the old telephone copper cables for the dsl connection.
- randomhodler84 5y agoTrue! With a general purpose appliance, one needs to define what outdated means. Is it fit for purpose (is the crypto strong enough against resourced adversaries), is it serviceable and reliable as hardware. In both cases, this would be yes. Nobody says their toaster is outdated beyond aesthetics. Does it toast? Is it repairable?