Duress

[Dr. Dimitri Vulis]

"A. Padgett Peterson P.E. Information Security" <PADGETT at hobbes.orl.mmc.com> writes:
> Those of you who follow FIREWALLS may recall that I premote the use of
> "minefields" on networks, machines that should never be accessed and will
> trigger an alarm/response on any access.
>
> Some years ago I wrote a spec for cryptographic securing of notebooks/
> E-Mail that included a "duress" capability: a "password" that, when
> entered would appear to be properly accepted but would report an error
> on retrieval. Optional was to be overwriting of any material whose access
> was attempted.

As a side remark, every burglar alarm connected to a phone that I've ever seen
has this feature: a code that one can type under duress that will both turn
off the alarm and call for help. I wonder how many users will remember this
code when under duress.

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Dr. Dimitri Vulis
Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps