4 ms·
I see why it's a bad idea, but what does that have to do with cryptography?
by dividedbyzero 4y ago
I see why it's a bad idea, but what does that have to do with cryptography?
- mikechalmers 4y agoI don't understand enough to know why it's a bad idea but Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adversarial behaviour, so this part seems clear to me.
- dividedbyzero 4y agoIt's a bad idea because URLs, email addresses and user names help with phishing, identity theft, social engineering, matching with other leaks, may lend themselves to blackmail (certain dating apps) or otherwise endanger people (gay dating apps in certain places), for very questionable benefit. No definite idea if they really do that, but if they did, that would strike me as irresponsible. Also, I think the failure here is to not use cryptographical methods in the first place which would seem to be a screw-up in a different security specialty.
- jacquesm 4y agoAt a minimum a bunch of non-encrypted data might give you some cribs to try. HN12345[*] is easier to find if you know that the website used is called Hacker News. [*] Not my actual password.