Cryptobox (was Re: Edupage, June 20, 2001)

[Jim Choate]

Tell them to stop as it already exists, get Plan 9.

http://plan9.bell-labs.com

On Thu, 21 Jun 2001, R. A. Hettinga wrote:

> At 5:08 PM -0600 on 6/20/01, EDUCAUSE wrote:
> 
> 
> > PRIVATE LIFE
> > Researchers at Ottawa University are developing Cryptobox, a
> > program that encrypts e-mail, instant messages, and other Internet
> > communications. The program works by sending transmissions over
> > a peer-to-peer network, scrambling each end of the transmission
> > with an encryption code and hiding it underneath a stream of junk
> > traffic. The system automatically decodes the transmissions once
> > they reach their destinations. The researchers have already
> > tested Cryptobox in a network of 40 real and 200 virtual clients
> > and report that the test succeeded. Independent researchers are
> > skeptical, however. Richard Clayton, a computer scientist at
> > Cambridge University, noted, "It's unclear whether they can make
> > this work and keep it stable in the real world with millions of
> > systems." The program could, if successful on a large scale,
> > solve one of the main security vulnerabilities of the Internet.
> > Currently, e-mails, instant messages, and many other transmissions
> > can be easily intercepted by those with access to key areas of a
> > network.
> > (New Scientist Online, 18 June 2001)
> 
> -- 
> -----------------
> R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
> "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
> [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
> experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
> 
> 
> 
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