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Safecracking for the Computer Scientist
secureman writes "It looks like Matt Blaze (the University of Pennsylvania CS
professor best known for finding security flaws in the NSA Clipper Chip
and in master keyed
locks) is still causing trouble in physical security circles. There's a draft paper (dated December '04) on his web site
entitled Safecracking for the
Computer Scientist, which is a pretty in-depth look at what
computer security can learn from safes (and vaults). The interesting
thing is that it describes in detail the different ways that safes are
cracked, probably revealing techniques that locksmiths would rather you
didn't know about (there's a lot of security-by-obscurity there). The
conclusion seems to be that while safes can fail, at least they do so
in better ways than computer systems do. Warning: it's a
2.5 meg pdf file with lots of pretty pictures."
How about a safe holding up to the
wgetting it at 12 K/s
X(7): A program for managing terminal windows. See also screen(1).
While trying to retrieve the URL: http://www.crypto.com/papers/safelocks.pdf
The following error was encountered:
Unable to determine IP address from host name for www.crypto.com
The dnsserver returned:
No DNS records
That's helpful.
-- Note: If you don't agree with me, don't bother replying. I won't read it.
you have to be able to read
so it is quite obscure
stop supporting microsoft with pirating their software!!!!!
All safes open using a maintenance combination of 12345.
Did anyone else read the headline and think this was some horrible spoof on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"?
... no.
Well, now that you mention it
It's simple: I demand prosecution for torture.
Its all these damn trouble making hackers and lock-pickers figuring out how to do it! Damn commies.
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That sounds like the combination some idiot would have on his luggage.
Thinkin' Lincoln - a web comic of presidential proportions
Except that 'funny' mods don't get karma.
Other than that, which forms the entire body of your argument, you're spot on.
Me, I was amused by the name of the safe-cracking book mentioned in the PDF: "The Art of Manipulation." I'm sure that's the name of a low-budget pr0n film.
I think I need a new sig here.
To top it off, his mastery of punctuation and the Shift Key is far better than yours.
I think I need a new sig here.
True story.
I needed access to secured room of a building my company was renovating. It had a pushbutton type combination lock on it (or some such). I asked the combination, and the maintenance superintendent said "1-2-3-4-5". I immediately blurted out "1-2-3-4-5? That sounds like the combination some idiot would put on his luggage." Straight Pavlovian response to a Mel Brooks straight line.
It was only after a 5 seconds of being stared at that I realized that the Superintendent had intentionally set that combination, and he was NOT a "Spaceballs" fan.
"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
This one throws a monkey-wrench in the works of the old "hacker vs cracker" argument. If someone is a redneck safe-cracking computer scientist from Georgia, what category do they fall into? Hmmm?
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
So I was reading the DaVinci Code and the main characters discovered that the account number for a swiss bank account was the first several digits of the Fibbonaci sequence.
The first thing I thought to myself was:
"That sounds like the combination some GENIUS would have on his luggage!"
Rats would be more funny if they could fart.
Well i dont think we have much to worry about here. As most
That's not fair, I live upstairs. I take offense for all of us readers who can't even make it to the stairs.
Ever read /. at -1?
You'll discover that you are incorrect, Sir.
They changed the timeclock override password at work from 00000 to 12345 because the button broke from overuse :)
And then wrap the whole thing in tin foil. You know, just to make sure.
I walked past the gym we have in the basement of our building. When too maany (non entitled) people started using it, they changed the PIN on the door. I know this because some Brainiac posted a apologetic notice on the door that helpfully included the *new* PIN for regular gym patrons.
Unfortunately it was taken down before I could take a picture of it.
Xix.
"Everything is adjustable, provided you have the right tools"
I tried that myself with my new Quanilon(tm) quantum CPU from AMD. The problem I had, was when the cooling fan failed the CPU overheated -- causing the probability wave to colapse -- and my cat died...
Required reading for internet skeptics
I do agree with the other points though.
Okay... I'll do the stupid things first, then you shy people follow.
[Zappa]
Bah. A real genius would set his combination to the LAST few digits of the Fibbonaci sequence ;-)
--- Egads, I glow in the dark!
Please explain to me what 0.7 bits is? ;-)
Sorry for nitpicking, but the above statement is rather silly, unless you can think up a way of generalizing the definition of a bit to include rational numbers ;-)
As we both know, this is toally besides the point :) The point of course, was that by more bits we don't mean shifting the original letters more, we mean shifting the letters in more ways. Eh. Approximately.
Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.