T >Yeah, a lot of folks suggested the same thing (I didn't, so I'm T >neutral on the credit issue). It was debated in scy.crypt, as well as T >here on Cypherpunks.

Modesty, modesty. It seems to me than *some* T. C. May discussed the reverse engineering of the Clipper Chip in April 1993 as part of the Clipper/Capstone announcement firestorm.

DCF

An elephant never forgets.

Yeah, I guess Duncan is right. I did write some comments about the procedures that would be needed to reverse-engineer the Clipper chip (having started Intel's electron-beam analysis lab in 1981), but I don't think I ever advocated it as a Cyperpunks project, that's for sure! (If I'm misremembering, someone will correct me.) Spending this kind of money and time, and gathering the expertise, is not something you do on a lark, or because it would be cool. A company seriously motivated to take on the Clipperphone _might_ attempt such a thing, but probably wouldn't, for lots of reasons. If some of you wish to start a major project to reverse-engineer the Clipper, or the Skipjack, etc., good luck! Might I suggest first spending several thousand dollars to buy--if you can--some Clipperphones, then tear them apart to see how the chips are mounted (rumor: surface mount, hard to get at) and what kind of encapsulization is used. I'll be happy to provide a few hours or more of free consulting on what kind of plasma asher you'll need to get to the chip surface, some approaches to voltage-contrast analysis, and other "peeling" steps to consider. --Tim May -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power:2**859433 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available.