that's a pretty interesting proposal...check out: http://www.phys.washington.edu/~berns/RT99/ ...this describes how gps satellites are synched to a universal time clock at one of the labs. also check out: http://www.epm.ornl.gov/~dunigan/atmgps/ ...this describes using the gps timing cycles to test latency of atm networks. as far as how random these bits are, i don't know if the entropy is very good, and i don't know if the # of bits is enough to encrypt a message. if the jitter is identical for all 27 gps satellites at the same moment, those bits could be used to define a starting point of a series of random bits in an otp (like a cd-based otp, etc. but hopefully something better than that.) for example two machines could be set to agree in advance to use the bits received from gps jitter at a particular moment in time to compute the starting sequence of an otp i suppose. phillip -----Original Message----- From: owner-cypherpunks@Algebra.COM [mailto:owner-cypherpunks@Algebra.COM]On Behalf Of Carol Braddock Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2001 9:35 PM To: cypherpunks@Algebra.COM Subject: RE: The Key Vanishes: Scientist Outlines Unbreakable Code Could the randomization inserted into the GPS system be used for a global random number server? I think it was in the form of time jitter, so you would have to use the difference between successive readings. -----Original Message----- From: owner-cypherpunks@minder.net [mailto:owner-cypherpunks@minder.net]On Behalf Of Phillip H. Zakas Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2001 7:06 PM To: cypherpunks@EINSTEIN.ssz.com Subject: RE: The Key Vanishes: Scientist Outlines Unbreakable Code if this is true ($100K to launch) I'd help defray some of this cost just as a mechanism to distribute/manage my own keys. but i suspect the satellite itself is pretty expensive. when I looked into this a few years back the annual management of a satellite was about $250K. I assume it's less expensive now? also key management can be handled from the ground pretty well. i wouldn't use the satellite as the source of the key, i'd use it as a kind of reflector instead. instead of launching a dedicated satellite why not rent time on several existing satellites and use them as reflectors? it's a lot less expensive and key management can be handled from the ground. phillip -----Original Message----- From: owner-cypherpunks@Algebra.COM [mailto:owner-cypherpunks@Algebra.COM]On Behalf Of Jim Choate Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2001 5:46 PM To: cypherpunks@einstein.ssz.com Subject: Re: The Key Vanishes: Scientist Outlines Unbreakable Code On Tue, 20 Feb 2001, Ray Dillinger wrote:
The rest of your post, I agree with.
First, your orbital random number server can only be put there by someone with enough bucks to launch a rocket -- whom you have to trust implicitly. None of the twenty or thirty people whom I trust implicitly has that much money. Heck, I don't even think I personally *know* anyone who has that much money.
Look into experimental rocketry and 'can satellites' (there's a link on /. about the later). The cost to put a bird in space is probably around $100k right now. ____________________________________________________________________ Before a larger group can see the virtue of an idea, a smaller group must first understand it. "Stranger Suns" George Zebrowski The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage@ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------