🚀 go-pugleaf

Robert Lewis Glendenning writes:

 > I believe that the intelligence agencies only manage to crack a small
 > percentage
 > (maybe less than 1%) of all traffic. I have heard they save all
 > traffic,
 > and that it takes a freight-car of tape per day.

I won't comment on the figures (Where did you get them?), but remember that agencies usually target specific groups or individuals. It narrows down the bandwidth a tad.

 > It is not possible that they are intercepting all interesting
 > traffic, even
 > though foreign military and intelligence traffic is a small
 > percentage
 > (again less than 1%) of the interesting traffic of the world.

I depends on who _they_ are, there isn't only the famous acronym companies out there, there are industrial spy's and a zillion other  "intrested" parties. When you think about it, you end up with a sizable population.

 > From a cracker's point of view, this is horrid. They have to expend a
 > lot of
 > effort to determine where files begin and end (due to the data link
 > encryption),
 > and lots of those files are copies of the latest pinup sloshing
 > around the
 > net.

I disagree, crackers trive on challenge, if there's a way to crack it, they'll find it. _Nothing_ is more powerfull than time itself. And as for the datalinks, there will still be "markers" and protocols. Encryption is nice, but according to your model certain standarts will have to exists for everyone to talk to each other. And for the looks of the United State's congress, it won't be that advanced.

You also think about the main communication trunks, but what about the idividual's lines? At one point, there _has_ to be a dedicated line to a perticular person/organisation. _That_ is where the weakness lies. A steel reinforced trunk line can't help your security if your junction box is open to any card waving techky.

 > So, IMHO, spoofing is something to be concerned about, but it is just
 > another
 > annoying environmental factor, like viruses (both biological and
 > computer).

On that point I agree, but what I'm babbling about is that all the security in the world won't help you if you aren't carefull. How does the line go? The only secure system is an unplugged system in a vault with no ventilation shaft?

Regards,
        Robert Warren
        Warren@switchboard.UUCP
        Warren%switchboard@cam.org
        Warren@cam.org (Use if mail bounces)

Comments welcome.
 > Lew
 > --
 > Lew Glendenning      rlglende@netcom.com 408-245-7488

 > "Perspective is worth 80 IQ points." Nils Bohr (or somebody like
 > that).

 > ---
 >  * Origin: switchboard - PatchNet-UseNet gateway (514)334-7883
 > (191:514/0.0)
 > SEEN-BY: 514/0