🚀 go-pugleaf

Someone who can't post directly made some interesting observations to me in
mail. They follow up on the idea of using a common calculator for encryption.
He points out that ATMs offer similar possibilities.

His mail follows:

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I suppose you'd want TI rather than Casio (national security and all that).  I
suspect it is the TI small grey and blue plastic solar 16-button one ( I don't
know the model #).  A law firm where I used to work bought these by the case.
In NY they retail for about $8.99.  I plan to pick one up this afternoon and
spend the weekend starting an exhaustive search on all 20-40 key combinations.

But this gets me to thinking about other seemingly innocuous devices that could
have secret hidden lives . . .  If CIA were to have a front bank (maybe BCCI) on
the Cirrus ATM system . . .  just how much information could be given in an 
account balance?  No more need for dead drops for spies, just transfer funds 
(to send info) or check your balance (to receive info).  This could double as a 
means for paying informers.

Of course there are other big problems with this.  However, it really makes you 
wonder what "they" (that's the conspiratorial they) could get away with hiding 
in plain view if they had a mind to.

Jim Frohnhofer      frohnhof@ray.ncbi.nlm.nih