[3452] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: IP: State Govt Will Use Datakey Smart Cards
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Marc Horowitz)
Mon Oct 12 19:37:08 1998
To: "Enzo Michelangeli" <em@who.net>
Cc: <cryptography@c2.net>
From: Marc Horowitz <marc@cygnus.com>
Date: 12 Oct 1998 17:56:21 -0400
In-Reply-To: "Enzo Michelangeli"'s message of Mon, 12 Oct 1998 11:21:13 +0800
"Enzo Michelangeli" <em@who.net> writes:
>> Yes, but if the keys are generated in software there will always be
>> someone knowledgeable enough to inspect the source code, or, in the
>> worst case, reverse-engineer the application, detecting flaws or
>> backdoors.
Then users need to decide if they trust the people who can do the
audits. Even they are trustworthy, how do you know that the software
they audited is the same software you're running? And even if you do,
software runs on hardware, which brings us back to square one.
>> Even when that's unlikely, its mere possibility will be a useful
>> deterrent against intentional tricks. With hardware devices, public
>> analysis and review is much more difficult.
Hardware devices also provide stronger protections against compromise.
It's a two-edged sword.
Marc
