[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: ArcotSign (was Re: Does security depend on hardware?)




At 08:59 AM 9/22/98 +0100, Mok-Kong Shen wrote:
>bram wrote:
>> 
>> On Mon, 21 Sep 1998, Bruce Schneier wrote:
>> 
>> > Here's the basic idea:  Strew a million passwords on your hard drive, and
>> > make it impossible to verify which is the correct one offline.  So,
someone
>> > who steals the password file off the client cannot run a cracking tool
>> > against the file.
>> 
>> Is this really patentable? It sounds a *lot* like the original public-key
>> algorithm (the one involving lots of little 'puzzles')
>
>A question : How does the legitimate user find his password?
>(Sorry for not having followed this thread from the beginning.)

He uses a remembered secret and some mathematical magic.

Bruce
**********************************************************************
Bruce Schneier, President, Counterpane Systems     Phone: 612-823-1098
101 E Minnehaha Parkway, Minneapolis, MN  55419      Fax: 612-823-1590
           Free crypto newsletter.  See:  http://www.counterpane.com