[3679] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: Is a serial cable as good as thin air?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Adam Back)
Tue Dec 1 12:26:52 1998
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1998 01:05:04 GMT
From: Adam Back <aba@dcs.ex.ac.uk>
To: dianelos@tecapro.com
CC: cryptography@c2.net
In-reply-to: <199811300420.WAA00846@tecaprocorp.com> (message from Dianelos
Georgoudis on Sun, 29 Nov 1998 22:20:29 -0600)
re. the use of a serial cable rather than an air gap / sneaker net
(floppy disk).
One thing that occurs is that if you were not careful the system might
be used to mount a timing attack against the back-end machine. See
Paul Kocher's RSA timing attack.
Timing attacks may be possible without compromising the front end
machine, the a compromised front end machine might have advantages in
avoiding detection, or obtaining more accurate timing information.
Adam
