First, I won't express any more opinions about the DES crack and whether it "ought" to be coordinated or uncoordinated. Second, Greg's point brings up something very interesting: At 7:34 AM -0800 2/26/97, Greg Broiles wrote:
others, too. The value of the $10K prize alone isn't that attractive, because with puny hardware it's a very long shot, and with meaningful hardware, the cost of the hardware dwarfs the value of the prize.
Interestingly for the _contract_ discussion, it is likely that many of those participating are not the _owners_ of the hardware on which the crack software is being run. For example, the hardware is owned by universities (and hence maybe taxpayers), corporations, government labs, etc. The whole notion of "stealing cycles" is the key to the crack. as it were. (Sure, in some cases the owners sort of know that spare cycles are being used, or that "something" is going on. And the cycles may indeed be spare...but in some cases the DES crack may materially slow down other users...not my main point, though.) So, do those making a "contract" with the crack challenge organizers have the legal power to do so? Did the University of California waive its share of the prize if the Network of Workstations, for example, finds the key? Will we see "stego cracking," where people hide their intentions so that if the cycles they steal win a prize, they won't have to answer to their employers? Or, worse, share the prize? (Or give up the prize completely, as seems likely under existing case law.) --Tim May Just say "No" to "Big Brother Inside" We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^1398269 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."