Thanks for the article, but i have some questions/comments that perhaps require some clearing up.... even if it were in perfect working order, this technology sounds to me like another coup for crypto... what i mean is, simply, bits are bits, and the data on the drive could be read in a part by part basis (perhaps i don't have the vocabulary for this, but the idea is here).... sorta like "ta hell with the security, if i just take the drive, or the platter even i can just read it raw and then all i have to contend with is the encryption" well, sorry for my ignorance... perhaps you could clear it up if needed :) -stempleton. At 07:11 AM 2/5/01 -0600, you wrote:

http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/computing/02/02/biometric.security.idg/index.h

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Thanks for the article, but i have some questions/comments that perhaps require some clearing up.... even if it were in perfect working order,

yes, and even if you're using a c2-compliant operating system, this type of technology is not (as the article points out) for sensitive information. It's great for thwarting those who go around bypassing screen saver passwords, etc. but there really isn't a high enough confidence to store the The Nation's Secrets. The Nation's Secrets are reserved for off-the-shelf toshiba laptops with removable hard drives, easily lost behind standard-issue-one-each office copiers and subject to the tragedy of spilled coca colas and jelly donuts. Only crack state department, CIA and department of energy personnel are even allowed to use such equipment and the little red diskettes marked 'secret' that go along with them. Oh and of course only if they access AOL through the laptops so their kids can complete their dinosaur homework assignments ("Gee dad, what's 'intel briefing 2-1-98.doc'?") the rest of us are left to complicated systems of hardware/software passwords, PGP and the all-powerful stress of knowing that a lost laptop means lost bucks $$ and lost e-mail/work/writings, forcing us to pay attention to our stuff and be careful about what we install/use on our laptops. phillip -----Original Message----- From: owner-cypherpunks@Algebra.COM [mailto:owner-cypherpunks@Algebra.COM]On Behalf Of Jim Choate Sent: Monday, February 05, 2001 3:43 PM To: cypherpunks@einstein.ssz.com Subject: Re: CNN.com - Technology - New notebooks offer biometric protection - February 2, 2001 Hi, If all you use the biometrics for is authentication then yes, physical control of the machine will allow a bypass of the technology. However, if you use it also for the key to the file system then it becomes much more secure. As I understand it there is no file system level protection offered through this technology at this time. It is a start howerver... On Mon, 5 Feb 2001, POF wrote: this

technology sounds to me like another coup for crypto... what i mean is, simply, bits are bits, and the data on the drive could be read in a part by part basis (perhaps i don't have the vocabulary for this, but the idea is here).... sorta like "ta hell with the security, if i just take the drive, or the platter even i can just read it raw and then all i have to contend with is the encryption"

well, sorry for my ignorance... perhaps you could clear it up if needed :)

At 07:11 AM 2/5/01 -0600, you wrote:

...

http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/computing/02/02/biometric.security.idg/index.h tml

____________________________________________________________________ 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 --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------