Editing 538: Security
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| title = Security | | title = Security | ||
| image = security.png | | image = security.png | ||
− | | titletext = Actual actual reality: nobody cares about his secrets. (Also, I would be hard-pressed to find that | + | | titletext = Actual actual reality: nobody cares about his secrets. (Also, I would be hard-pressed to find that wench for $5.) |
}} | }} | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | The "crypto nerd" | + | The "crypto nerd" would be concerned with strongly encrypting data on their personal machine. This would conceivably come in handy when "villains" attempt to steal information on his computer. The crypto nerd imagines that due to his advanced encryption, the crackers will be ultimately defeated. [[Randall]] suggests that in the real world, people with the desire to access this information would simply {{w|Rubber-hose cryptanalysis|use torture}} to coerce the nerd to give them the password. Both panels also reference the amount of money used to access the data. In the first the villain is willing to use millions of dollars to construct a {{w|TWIRL|super computer}}, while in the second, he simply uses a $5 wrench. The comic effectively states, completely accurately, that the weakest part of computer security is usually not the computer, but the user. |
{{w|RSA (algorithm)|RSA}} is a commonly used public key encryption method. Current standards typically use 1024, 2048, and (more recently) 4096 {{w|Key size|bit keys}}. These encryption methods are not yet (feasibly) breakable. A 4096-bit key will remain unbreakable for the foreseeable future. | {{w|RSA (algorithm)|RSA}} is a commonly used public key encryption method. Current standards typically use 1024, 2048, and (more recently) 4096 {{w|Key size|bit keys}}. These encryption methods are not yet (feasibly) breakable. A 4096-bit key will remain unbreakable for the foreseeable future. | ||
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The title text pokes fun at typical users, who do not have data that would be worth anything to anyone but themselves. Therefore, it is unlikely that the above situation would ever occur. Additionally, the wrench used in the second panel is large, and presumably more than the $5 referenced by the thug. | The title text pokes fun at typical users, who do not have data that would be worth anything to anyone but themselves. Therefore, it is unlikely that the above situation would ever occur. Additionally, the wrench used in the second panel is large, and presumably more than the $5 referenced by the thug. | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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:A Crypto nerd's imagination: | :A Crypto nerd's imagination: | ||
+ | :[Cueball is holding a laptop, and his friend is examining it.] | ||
:Cueball: His laptop's encrypted. Let's build a million-dollar cluster to crack it. | :Cueball: His laptop's encrypted. Let's build a million-dollar cluster to crack it. | ||
:Friend: No good! It's 4096-bit RSA! | :Friend: No good! It's 4096-bit RSA! | ||
:Cueball: Blast! Our evil plan is foiled! | :Cueball: Blast! Our evil plan is foiled! | ||
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:What would actually happen: | :What would actually happen: | ||
− | :Cueball: His laptop's encrypted. Drug him and hit him with this $5 | + | :[Cueball is holding a piece of paper and giving his friend a wench.] |
+ | :Cueball: His laptop's encrypted. Drug him and hit him with this $5 wench until he tells us the password. | ||
:Friend : Got it. | :Friend : Got it. | ||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
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[[Category:Cryptography]] | [[Category:Cryptography]] |