CDR: Re: Rijndael & Hitachi

[Derek Atkins]

"Steven M. Bellovin" <smb at research.att.com> writes:

> Precisely.  What is the *real* threat model?
> 
> History does indeed show that believed-secure ciphers may not be, and 
> that we do indeed need a safety margin.  But history shows even more 
> strongly that there are many better ways to the plaintext, and that's 
> the real goal.

Why try to pick a Medeco when it's locking a glass door?  :-)

-derek

PS: This isn't a hypothetical; I visited a friend's parents a number
of years ago, and noticed that their front door, all glass (with
nothing behind it) was locked using a Medeco lock.  For those who
don't know, a Medeco is a top-of-the-line lock, practically impossible
to pick, drill out, etc.
-- 
       Derek Atkins, SB '93 MIT EE, SM '95 MIT Media Laboratory
       Member, MIT Student Information Processing Board  (SIPB)
       URL: http://web.mit.edu/warlord/    PP-ASEL-IA     N1NWH
       warlord at MIT.EDU                        PGP key available