Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!texbell!sugar!karl From: karl@sugar.hackercorp.com (Karl Lehenbauer) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: WB 1.3.2 Message-ID: <4247@sugar.hackercorp.com> Date: 30 Sep 89 05:59:52 GMT References: <14203@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU> <7825@cbmvax.UUCP> <6068@tekigm2.MEN.TEK.COM> <7850@cbmvax.UUCP> <6097@tekigm2.MEN.TEK.COM> <226@estinc.UUCP> <193@teslab.lab.OZ> Reply-To: karl@sugar.hackercorp.com (Karl Lehenbauer) Organization: Sugar Land Unix - Houston Lines: 22 In article <193@teslab.lab.OZ> andrew@teslab.lab.OZ writes: >Does anyone know if there is any source available for public-key >encryption around. I know that certain security agencies have tried >to inhibit the adoption of such systems. Personally, I think that >the benefits (as shown above) to society of totally secure public-key >encryption would far outway any disadvantages. I think a lot of people don't realize that to do a public-key encryption of nontrivial files, at least by RSA, requires an enormous amount of computation. I believe the Internet steering committee has decided to push public-key encryption for *keys* (this is for email), where the decryption of a public key results in a DES key to decrypt the message bodies. I presume that the NSA would not have pushed DES if they could not break it. I think that was a prudent thing for them to do. (flames on that remark via email or to /dev/null please) -- -- uunet!sugar!karl "There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that -- flags do not wave in a vacuum." -- Arthur C. Clarke -- Usenet access: (713) 438-5018