Re: DEC's MICROCASH

[grimm@MIT.EDU]

My question becomes, "Is it harder to crack one encrypted transaction
for $10,000, or 100,000 plaintext transactions for the same amount?"

Answer:  Don't know.  That's why I am posting this message.


-James




   Date: Sun, 14 Jan 1996 20:19:24 -0500 (EST)
   From: "James M. Cobb" <jcobb@ahcbsd1.ovnet.com>
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     Friend, 


     01 14 96 Edupage includes: 

     MICROCASH

     Digital Equipment filed a patent last August for a payment 
     system called Millicent, which enables Web-site operators 
     to charge as little as a tenth of a cent for each customer 
     "hit." 

     The system relies on middle-men --credit card companies or 
     digital banks -- to handle the transactions, but its novelty 
     lies in its cost-effective design geared toward tracking 
     minuscule amounts of cash.  To keep disk storage at a minimum, 
     security measures providing privacy and a trail of signed re- 
     ceipts are not included in the system, but proponents point out 
     that would-be cyberthieves would have to crack a lot of trans- 
     actions -- 10,000 at 0.1 cent each -- to make just $10.  "There 
     are easier ways to make 10 bucks," says Millicent's inventor. 

     (Business Week 15 Jan 96 p90) 


     Cordially, 

     Jim