The Key Vanishes: Scientist Outlines Unbreakable Code

[Phillip H. Zakas]

that's a pretty interesting proposal...check out:
http://www.phys.washington.edu/~berns/RT99/ ...this describes how gps
satellites are synched to a universal time clock at one of the labs.

also check out: http://www.epm.ornl.gov/~dunigan/atmgps/ ...this describes
using the gps timing cycles to test latency of atm networks.

as far as how random these bits are, i don't know if the entropy is very
good, and i don't know if the # of bits is enough to encrypt a message.  if
the jitter is identical for all 27 gps satellites at the same moment, those
bits could be used to define a starting point of a series of random bits in
an otp (like a cd-based otp, etc. but hopefully something better than that.)
for example two machines could be set to agree in advance to use the bits
received from gps jitter at a particular moment in time to compute the
starting sequence of an otp i suppose.
phillip

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-cypherpunks at Algebra.COM
[mailto:owner-cypherpunks at Algebra.COM]On Behalf Of Carol Braddock
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2001 9:35 PM
To: cypherpunks at Algebra.COM
Subject: RE: The Key Vanishes: Scientist Outlines Unbreakable Code



Could the randomization inserted into the GPS system be used for a global
random number server? I think it was in the form of time jitter, so you
would have to use the difference between successive readings.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-cypherpunks at minder.net
[mailto:owner-cypherpunks at minder.net]On Behalf Of Phillip H. Zakas
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2001 7:06 PM
To: cypherpunks at EINSTEIN.ssz.com
Subject: RE: The Key Vanishes: Scientist Outlines Unbreakable Code



if this is true ($100K to launch) I'd help defray some of this cost just as
a mechanism to distribute/manage my own keys.  but i suspect the satellite
itself is pretty expensive.  when I looked into this a few years back the
annual management of a satellite was about $250K.  I assume it's less
expensive now?  also key management can be handled from the ground pretty
well.  i wouldn't use the satellite as the source of the key, i'd use it as
a kind of reflector instead.

instead of launching a dedicated satellite why not rent time on several
existing satellites and use them as reflectors?  it's a lot less expensive
and key management can be handled from the ground.

phillip

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-cypherpunks at Algebra.COM
[mailto:owner-cypherpunks at Algebra.COM]On Behalf Of Jim Choate
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2001 5:46 PM
To: cypherpunks at einstein.ssz.com
Subject: Re: The Key Vanishes: Scientist Outlines Unbreakable Code




On Tue, 20 Feb 2001, Ray Dillinger wrote:

> The rest of your post, I agree with.
>
> First, your orbital
> random number server can only be put there by someone with
> enough bucks to launch a rocket -- whom you have to trust
> implicitly. None of the twenty or thirty people whom I
> trust implicitly has that much money.  Heck, I don't even
> think I personally *know* anyone who has that much money.

Look into experimental rocketry and 'can satellites' (there's a link on /.
about the later). The cost to put a bird in space is probably around
$100k right now.

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