Re: don't use passwords as private keys (was Re: Using a password as a private key.)

If you're worried about RF noise, you have to assume the CPU or disk is also radiating enough for the spooks. On the other hand, that video camera in the ceiling can watch your keystrokes, but can't watch the CPU. That's when the paranoids worry about whether the KGB is sneaking in and copying their disk drive at night, and they start getting encrypted file system software. :-)

That's why some recommend that all secret e-mail be composed and encrypted on a laptop while disconected from the AC mains, and better yet operated in an open area (a park) or a place with lots of other electrical noise (a mall). --Steve