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'Vanish' Makes Sensitive Data Self-Destruct

Posted by Soulskill on from the also-doesn't-appear-to-be-a-fire-hazard dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports on new software called 'Vanish,' developed by computer scientists at the University of Washington, which makes sensitive electronic messages 'self destruct' after a certain period of time. The researchers say they have struck upon a unique approach that relies on 'shattering' an encryption key that is held by neither party in an e-mail exchange, but is widely scattered across a peer-to-peer file sharing system. 'Our goal was really to come up with a system where, through a property of nature, the message, or the data, disappears,' says Amit Levy, who helped create Vanish. It has been released as a free, open-source tool that works with Firefox. To use Vanish, both the sender and the recipient must have installed the tool. The sender then highlights any sensitive text entered into the browser and presses the 'Vanish' button. The tool encrypts the information with a key unknown even to the sender. That text can be read, for a limited time only, when the recipient highlights the text and presses the 'Vanish' button to unscramble it. After eight hours, the message will be impossible to unscramble and will remain gibberish forever. Tadayoshi Kohno says Vanish makes it possible to control the 'lifetime' of any type of data stored in the cloud, including information on Facebook, Google documents or blogs."

6 of 171 comments (clear)

  1. Obvious application by Dice · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dear Alice,

    Do you want to go to the dance with me?

    [ ] YES
    [ ] NO

    Love,
    Bob

    (Message will self-desctruct 1 minute after dance starts.)

    1. Re:Obvious application by Eevee · · Score: 4, Funny

      Dear Bob,

      No, but I'm sure that Eve would say yes if you asked her.

      Alice

      PS: Please don't ever mention this message to me in the future...and if you do, don't be surprised if I, umm, have forgotten receiving it.

    2. Re:Obvious application by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 5, Funny

      How about a 3-way with both Alice and Eve?

      Oh yeah. I had the balls to ask.

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
  2. So that's what's been happening by hwyhobo · · Score: 5, Funny

    After eight hours, the message will be impossible to unscramble and will remain gibberish forever

    I think corporate VPs have been using this tool for years, with the delay trigger set to "0".

    --
    End anonymous moderation and posting on /.
  3. At last... by quarkoid · · Score: 4, Funny

    Finally, an article in my area of expertise. Now this is likely to earn me +5 insightful, interesting and everything else.

    So, why is Vanish useful to us?

    Well... [BEGIN VANISH]u5vw7b658we77kw4657865v87zb68e7y678ctr63or63o7t6ox9587x4ygfiouhx
    eo84yre kl76v5los79y6to89xep89x7e4v6eotyl9e84lbvr8xy76ebl9txevl9r8
    ygnl8odvr,i8xeyvti8seybvto eby5tli8xevynlr8n776vsot7vnl9xe84nyu .lwaje
    aowpibtulieut,iwvy,o39u dryswrl9uzfna484ytlo8cwjnlv ig78wfp9cnusgl8w
    3n4aly8u .og8unl98nst.oby487rw;zbv5l936tlisd rnzsche.ldnj ekqb;wv4ioa
    ur.,zwjsehg f,vhlfiawvutileuklrla wucbtrqil37ctlasehjctn;laiwuerciluqw3ybt
    ow875ntliu awu[9c57st8nzwci4ycrnhseu6go38ny cfukbtw347v6f5o93vsb
    y to9y347icr yisuryctw 37bt6l9s38 ucr,ugbvt6o8w 3nyu.oulv87vg[END VANISH]

    I think we can all agree with that.

    Nick.

    1. Re:At last... by vertinox · · Score: 4, Funny

      o39u dryswrl9uzfna484ytlo8cwjnlv ig78wfp9cnusgl8w
      3n4aly8u .og8unl98nst.oby487rw;zbv5l936tlisd rnzsche.ldnj

      What?!

      How dare you sir! My mother is a saint!

      --
      "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
      -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)