At 8:50 PM -0700 10/16/00, Nathan Saper wrote:
On Mon, Oct 16, 2000 at 08:12:53PM -0700, Tim May wrote:
What is the basis for this claim about the NSA having such expertise and technology? Paranoia, ESP, cluelessness, or actual knowledge?
Speculation, nothing more. Notice the "IMHO" above. I'm not claiming to be stating facts.
I asked you to provide some _basis_ for your claim, not to quibble about "not claiming to be stating facts."
Most crypto algorithms are mathematically sound. I'm not worried about the NSA finding some miraculous way to factor large numbers. I'm worried about the NSA discovering security bugs in crypto tools.
Recall that your precise words were: "IMHO, the NSA has enough expertise and technology to crack just about any cipher out there." This is a claim about _ciphers_, a claim often made by the clueless. ("Any cipher can be broken...," "The NSA has more than enough computer power...," are the most common variants.) You are a twit. --Tim May -- ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, ComSec 3DES: 831-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, "Cyphernomicon" | black markets, collapse of governments.