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Privacy With a 4096 Bit RSA Key — Offline, On Paper

Posted by timothy on from the you'll-need-a-bigger-id-badge dept.

HavanaF writes "Online backup is practical, but can it offer any privacy? The Dutch security company Safeberg developed an Offline Private Key Protocol, with an asymmetric key scheme. The protocol demands that the private (decryption) key be stored away from the 'source' computer, which presumably is 'too vulnerable.' The catch is that the private key needs to be fairly large to be secure: a 4,096-bit RSA key should suffice for some years. But how to store an 800-character key offline? Safeberg introduces a machine readable paper key, with the 4k-bit key crammed in a giant 2D Datamatrix barcode. This video on key strength tells the story."

3 of 232 comments (clear)

  1. What Happens When ... by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... you fold the paper your 2D key is on? Tears, that's what. Tears.

    1. Re:What Happens When ... by Yvan256 · · Score: 4, Funny

      you can recover the data from the entropy in the universe.

      I tried do to that and all I got was "42".

  2. Re:Another plausible scenario I have to watch out by Merc248 · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Defecate thy papyrus!"

    --
    "Hegelians, who love a synthesis, will probably conclude that he wears a wig." - Bertrand Russell