At 9:38 PM 8/14/96, Douglas R. Floyd wrote:

Most foreign powers would pay someone a handsome sum to hand over these keys. I would bet that France or Iran would offer a billion dollars to someone who would turn over the part of the database they preside over.

I bet that France/Iran/etc. would be able to pool together 3 billion dollars and a nice getaway for the stooges who can grab a tape with the escrowed keys on it. Heck, Ames turned traitor for less. (I am assuming the keys as small, 1K bytes each... an 8mm Exabyte mammoth tape would be able to carry 30 million keys.) Even an "el cheapo" Travan TR3 tape would be able to snarf 1.6 million keys... and that's a lot of people compromised!

Sure, the going bid is $350 million on BlackNet. I expect the price to go higher, as more keys are involved. --Tim May Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software! We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we 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, Licensed Ontologist | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."