At 08:51 PM 4/23/04 +0200, Thomas Shaddack wrote:
On Fri, 23 Apr 2004, John Kelsey wrote:
The obvious problem with multiple levels of passwords and data is: When does the guy with the rubber hose stop beating passwords out of you?
This serves a purpose as well.
Why would you ever cooperate if you can't expect much from the deal anyway?
Since passphrases are in persons' minds, and minds and wills can be broken, one has to consider the security implications of this. Mil orgs don't assume that prisoners are able to keep secrets under arbitrary duress. Duress layering buys time for your colleages and family in all cases, whether they kill you or not. If they're not killing you, then maybe they'll buy one of the deeper levels of duress layers. If you physically destroy the keys or the data, there is little to gain by torturing you or your family. That is superior to gambling that your deeper duress levels are convincing to the man with the electrodes. An iButton that you could crunch in your teeth to destroy it would be nice...