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I can imagine systems that would be coercion proof, but I can't imagine any that would be coercion proof and also allow a dead mans switch, which I thought he h

I can imagine systems that would be coercion proof, but I can't imagine any that would be coercion proof and also allow a dead mans switch, which I thought he had also claimed to have.

grey-area 13y ago
If reconstructing the secret requires a certain no of keys, but not all, and those people are distributed around the world, it's quite possible to be coercion proof as one party (because you can't decrypt on your own) and the secrets still accessible even if one party is compromised.
- ianterrell 13y ago
  If that were the case, there would need to be at least two other parties who share his ideology specifically enough to decrypt the data only after he's presumed dead. They would also need to remain secret in order to not be targeted simultaneously. Not impossible requirements, but they seem unlikely. The question is: Can you automate it to remove the human element? Assuming Tor is perfect, could you create N co-conspirator hidden services that need checked in with periodically to not work together to decrypt it? Assuming the check in would be able to detect duress, that might be a viable system.
  - grey-area 13y ago
    If that were the case, there would need to be at least two other parties who share his ideology specifically enough to decrypt the data only after he's presumed dead. Well apparently Senator Humphrey is on board with his ideology :) I really don't think it'd be a problem for him to distribute keys to a few like-minded individuals before he left, or even when he was in hong kong, particularly if he has some shared key system set up so that any n keys can open the secrets. It sounds like he has certainly distributed an encrypted file of the docs to several people, so I wouldn't be surprised if he has likewise distributed the keys to open them. However while the mechanics of his protecting this data are interesting on a technical level, they're also not the most important story here, and we don't really know enough (or at least I don't) to speculate without more facts...
- brown9-2 13y ago
  I think the latter part of this is only true if it is possible for the other parties to detect that he has been compromised.
bjornsing 13y ago
True, in the extreme case (deadly torture) it's obviously not possible. I guess Mr. Snowden has to hope and pray that there's nobody capable out there that thinks PUBLIC disclosure of whatever documents he controls is worth killing for...
- ianterrell 13y ago
  Pure speculation, but... I don't know that his dead man's switch has to necessarily be interpreted as dumping the docs to the public. Perhaps they would simply deliver them to Glen Greenwald's doorstep (or someone else). In that case, the threat is just widening the filter. As in: "I've exercised my personal discretion in choosing what documents to release. Kill me, and the only check on this process is Mr. Greenwald's discretion."

I can imagine systems that would be coercion proof, but I can't imagine any that would be coercion proof and also allow a dead mans switch, which I thought he had also claimed to have.

grey-area 13y ago

If reconstructing the secret requires a certain no of keys, but not all, and those people are distributed around the world, it's quite possible to be coercion proof as one party (because you can't decrypt on your own) and the secrets still accessible even if one party is compromised.

ianterrell 13y ago
If that were the case, there would need to be at least two other parties who share his ideology specifically enough to decrypt the data only after he's presumed dead. They would also need to remain secret in order to not be targeted simultaneously. Not impossible requirements, but they seem unlikely. The question is: Can you automate it to remove the human element? Assuming Tor is perfect, could you create N co-conspirator hidden services that need checked in with periodically to not work together to decrypt it? Assuming the check in would be able to detect duress, that might be a viable system.
- grey-area 13y ago
  If that were the case, there would need to be at least two other parties who share his ideology specifically enough to decrypt the data only after he's presumed dead. Well apparently Senator Humphrey is on board with his ideology :) I really don't think it'd be a problem for him to distribute keys to a few like-minded individuals before he left, or even when he was in hong kong, particularly if he has some shared key system set up so that any n keys can open the secrets. It sounds like he has certainly distributed an encrypted file of the docs to several people, so I wouldn't be surprised if he has likewise distributed the keys to open them. However while the mechanics of his protecting this data are interesting on a technical level, they're also not the most important story here, and we don't really know enough (or at least I don't) to speculate without more facts...
brown9-2 13y ago
I think the latter part of this is only true if it is possible for the other parties to detect that he has been compromised.

bjornsing 13y ago

True, in the extreme case (deadly torture) it's obviously not possible. I guess Mr. Snowden has to hope and pray that there's nobody capable out there that thinks PUBLIC disclosure of whatever documents he controls is worth killing for...

ianterrell 13y ago
Pure speculation, but... I don't know that his dead man's switch has to necessarily be interpreted as dumping the docs to the public. Perhaps they would simply deliver them to Glen Greenwald's doorstep (or someone else). In that case, the threat is just widening the filter. As in: "I've exercised my personal discretion in choosing what documents to release. Kill me, and the only check on this process is Mr. Greenwald's discretion."