Re: Mixmaster Security Issues

[loki@obscura.com (Lance Cottrell)]

At 8:45 PM 8/30/95, Russell Nelson wrote:
>   Date: Wed, 30 Aug 1995 18:17:02 -0700
>
>Can't answer all of your questions, but I'll answer the ones I can,
>which will save time for someone else to answer the rest of them.
>
>   Apart from thwarting traffic analysis attacks, how does the security
>   of a Mixmaster Type II remailer packet compare to that of a
>   PGP-chained Type I message?
>
>Well, on the one hand, PGP uses IDEA, which is arguably better than
>triple-DES, but PGP also only uses the key length(s) of choice, which
>is to say that if you use the minimum length, you have very little
>security.  Also, Mixmaster packets remain the same length from hop to
>hop, so they are harder to track.

I am not sure this is the consensus opinion. Three key triple DES uses 168
bits of key, whereas IDEA only (only?!?) uses 128. DES is also much better
studied and understood. IDEA is still a young algorithm (though close to
the heart of every cypherpunk).

The rest of what you said looks good. Too bad I did not see it before I
typed my own answer ;)

----------------------------------------------------------
Lance Cottrell   loki@obscura.com
PGP 2.6 key available by finger or server.
Mixmaster, the next generation remailer, is now available!
http://obscura.com/~loki/Welcome.html or FTP to obscura.com

"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra.  Suddenly
it flips over, pinning you underneath.  At night the ice
weasels come."
                        --Nietzsche
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