🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Jul7.212920.6452@colorado.edu> weverka@csn.org (Robert T. Weverka) writes:
>As I understand it the banks use code to transfer money, and these
>codes are about as secure as it gets.

Money transfers between banks are encrypted with DES.  Some people
have concerns that DES has been compromised by the NSA, but that is
unproven.  (Not necessarily unfounded: IBM, the originator of DES,
did not publish the details of the design process).

Fraudulent money transfer still occurs.  The _really_ big stuff,
transfers of tens of _millions_ of dollars, makes _60 Minutes_.
(It normally involves bribing clerks... something which is
illegal but occurs nontheless).

Penny-ante ATM fraud (which is still as much as $20,000) is generally
mentioned several times a year in the _Rocky Mountain News_ buried
on the "Crime Watch" page somewhere around page 150.  (It's several
pages before the comics).

For some reason, banks are relucant to publish exact figures. :-)
You can safely bet that a _lot_ of minor ATM fraud occurs where the
bank writes off the loses to avoid bad publicity.

>They are beyond the reach of any private entity trying to break in.

Well...  Given encrypted data without plaintext I'ld tend to agree.
But a lot of this is irrelevant.  Want ATM account and PIN numbers?
Watch an ATM machine through binoculars and pick up any slips left
by customers.  I will _not_ reveal any more than that.


All of this is irrelevant -- the "vote-by-phone" has _no_ provision
for encrypted votes.  _All_ votes are in plaintext and _all_ votes
in all elections are linked to a single "voter ID" used by that voter,
for LIFE.  Perhaps the file linking voters to ID numbers will be
normally kept encrypted, but since it requires access several times
each day to account for deaths, people turning 18, people moving,
etc., it will not be secure.  Once your "voter ID" is compromised,
your vote in _all_ previous elections is revealed.

Not a pretty thought.


Bear Giles
bear@fsl.noaa.gov