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“A 384-bit key I can factor on my laptop in 24 hours,” he says. “The 512-bit keys I can factor in about 72 hours using Amazon Web Services for $75. And I did do
by seanica 14y ago
“A 384-bit key I can factor on my laptop in 24 hours,” he says. “The 512-bit keys I can factor in about 72 hours using Amazon Web Services for $75. And I did do a number of those. Then there are the 768-bit keys. Those are not factorable by a normal person like me with my resources alone. But the government of Iran probably could, or a large group with sufficient computing resources could pull it off.”
"But the government of Iran probably could"...At this point I stopped reading, as this article became propaganda.
Did you know this month is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, as advertized by the DHS?
http://www.dhs.gov/national-cyber-security-awareness-month http://www.dhs.gov/national-cyber-security-awareness-month
- philh 14y ago> At this point I stopped reading, as this article became propaganda. Even if that was true (it's not), how could you know it without reading further?
- seanica 14y agoWhat's not true? (what's 'it' that you talk about)
- philh 14y agoThe article did not become propaganda.
- seanica 14y agoThe article up to that point was great. However, that sentence "But the government of Iran probably could" made the preceding paragraphs appear to be a vehicle to deliver a meme (like a shaggy-dog story). The rest of the article could have been great, I just stopped reading. The journalist could have made a neutral statement about what entities have the resources to crack a 768-bit key. But they or their editor chose not to. Instead, everyone that reads the article will go away with the meme "Iran, if they wanted to, could crack 768-bit keys". Which is, by common definition, propaganda. It might be unintentional, i.e. the journalist is riding a wave of popular opinion, which they should not do; or it might be an attempt to load the article with link bait.
- willvarfar 14y agoHasn't (hackers in) Iran been behind hacking registrars and intercepting social networks etc? I thought it was a nod to that.
- Evbn 14y agoUnintentional still feeds into the problem. Journos should be extra careful, the have a microphone.
- stanleydrew 14y agoI don't understand. That statement was part of a quote during the interview. A single, continuous quote. Do you consider reporting what someone said to be propaganda. Should the journalist have left out that part of the quote?
- seanica 14y agoGood observation. I stand corrected. I wonder how Zachary Harris would defend the lack of neutrality of that quote, if he was asked to do so.
- darkarmani 14y ago> "But the government of Iran probably could"...At this point I stopped reading, as this article became propaganda. How is that propaganda? You don't think most countries have that kind of computing power?
- seanica 14y ago> How is that propaganda? defn: "Information, esp. of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view" http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propaganda http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propaganda 2: the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person 3 : ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause; also : a public action having such an effect > You don't think most countries have that kind of computing power? The quote itself states that: "...or a large group with sufficient computing resources could pull it off." I think you may have misunderstood my point of view. The point is, in his quote, the interviewee (Zachary Harris) singled out Iran. As it stands it is an out-of-the-blue assertion.
- Dylan16807 14y agoHow is it misleading? Iran has shown willingness to use fake certificates and the US has been cyber-attacking them. It's a reasonable example for a country. The point here is to make the threat less abstract by using a scenario, not to rally political sentiment.
- Aardwolf 14y agoThat's your choice if you don't want to read information if it contains certain sentences. No need to tell the rest of the world about it.
- seanica 14y agoThe same could be said about your comment. Touché.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]