Excerpts from mail.cypherpunks: 3-Feb-96 Crypto suggestion - re: Fat.. Bill Stewart@ix.netcom.c (2735*)
Nathaniel's written about the "fatal flaw" in any system that involves typing credit card numbers into your computer being that they're easy for a keyboard-sniffer or similar cracker to recognize. An obvious work-around for this (and for many of the problems with Social Security / Taxpayer ID numbers) is to use some sort of smartcard that generates one-shot numbers that the credit card company (or tax thugs) can map back to the "real" owner's ID.
Absolutely true. If you go back to my original post, I mentioned smart cards as one possible solution. Once you add smart cards, you don't have the system I described as fatally flawed, which is software-only encryption of credit card numbers. -- NB -------- Nathaniel Borenstein <nsb@fv.com> Chief Scientist, First Virtual Holdings FAQ & PGP key: nsb+faq@nsb.fv.com