Editing 343: 1337: Part 3

{{comic
| number    = 343
| date      = November 14, 2007
| title     = 1337: Part 3
| image     = 1337 part 3.png
| titletext = I once asked an NSA guy whether they'd broken RSA. And I know I can trust him, because I asked if he was lying to me and he said no.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the third part of five in the "[[:Category:1337|1337]]" series. The title 1337 is "L-eet," or "elite," using the {{w|Leet}} alphabet, a coding system used primarily on the internet (and on early text messaging systems), meant to provide a bit of {{w|obfuscation}} to plain text both to make it harder to read and to show off in a creative way using in-group jargon.

This series was released on five consecutive days (Monday to Friday) and not over the usual schedule of three comics a week. These are all the comics in [[:Category:1337|1337 series]]:
* [[341: 1337: Part 1]]
* [[342: 1337: Part 2]]
* [[343: 1337: Part 3]]
* [[344: 1337: Part 4]]
* [[345: 1337: Part 5]]

The comic is narrated by [[Cueball]] as seen in the previous comic, but that Cueball is not shown here, where the man drawn as Cueball is a real person. {{w|Adrian Lamo}} is a hacker known for being a threat analyst and has penetrated many corporate networks. As far as we know, he has not penetrated any government networks, so helping [[Help I'm trapped in a driver's license factory Elaine Roberts|Elaine]] physically break into the {{w|NSA}} would probably inspire second thoughts. The use of a rug to cross the barbed wire fence is likely a reference to a scene in ''{{w|Fight Club}}'', where the same method is used to break into a {{w|liposuction}} clinic.

{{w|RSA (algorithm)|RSA (the algorithm)}} is an encryption algorithm that allows  encryption and decryption using {{w|Public-key cryptography|separate keys}}. No efficient method to {{w|RSA problem|break RSA}} is known.{{Citation needed}} But if the NSA knew any such method, it would be unlikely for them to admit that.
However, the NSA have paid {{w|RSA Security|RSA (the company)}} to put a [http://theverge.com/2013/12/20/5231006/nsa-paid-10-million-for-a-back-door-into-rsa-encryption-according-to backdoor] into one of their encryption schemes. {{w|Lawrence Lessig}} is a political activist focusing on copyright law and intellectual property, as well as a founding board member of {{w|Creative Commons}}.

[[Steve Jobs]] was the two-time {{w|CEO}} of {{w|Apple Inc.}} In partnership with {{w|Steve Wozniak}}, he founded Apple. He oversaw Apple's return from near bankruptcy, the introduction of the original Macintosh, the {{w|iPod}}, the {{w|iPhone}}, and the {{w|iPad}}. But in the '90s, most of this had not happened yet. The comic is implying that it was Elaine, in fact, who planted those ideas in Jobs' mind (while perching on his bedpost, a nearly-impossible physical task for even a relatively small and light human being - such a stance is often depicted for gargoyles or fictional vampires, the latter of which are associated with nocturnal bedroom-invasions like this). Furthermore, Steve's reactions indicate that he was abruptly woken up by Elaine after she broke into his home and started a one-sided conversation with him.

The final panel is a pun on the Riot grrrls - {{w|Riot grrrl}} is an underground feminist punk rock movement. This metamorphosizes in the hands of Randall into Riot Prrl - who presumably prefer to code in {{w|Perl}}. The [https://www.facebook.com/Riot-Prrl-219590338058369/ real Riot Prrl] is from {{w|Northampton}} and is into {{w|Yarn bombing|guerilla knitting}}.

The title text may refer to the {{w|urban legend}} that leads petty criminals to ask each other [http://www.snopes.com/risque/hookers/cop.asp "Are you a cop?"]. The bottom line is that anyone who is capable of lying about breaking the RSA encryption algorithm, possibly including the "NSA guy," would be equally capable of lying about whether or not he is lying.

==Transcript==
:[Outside, Adrian Lamo is helping Elaine Roberts over a barbed wire fence.]
:It was the late 90's. Elaine crisscrossed the country with Adrian Lamo, the 'Homeless Hacker', learning to gain entry into systems both virtual and physical.
:Adrian Lamo: So you just throw a rug over the fence and... say, what ''is'' this place anyway?
:Roberts: Nowhere special.
:Lamo: ...Elaine, is this NSA Headquarters?
:Roberts: ...Look, I just want to see if they've broken RSA.

:[Inside, Lawrence Lessig is sitting at a table, Roberts is standing across the table swinging a knife.]
:She learned, from Lawrence Lessig, about the monstrosity that is U.S. Copyright Law.
:Roberts: So, how do we fix the system? Stab bad guys?
:Lessig: I'm starting something called "Creative Commons"
:''Shink''
:Elaine Roberts: I think we should stab bad guys...

:[Steve Jobs is lying up in his bed, Roberts is balancing while crouched on the foot of Jobs' bed.]
:She met with Steve Jobs to discuss the future of Apple.
:Roberts: Compression and bandwidth are changing everything.
:Jobs: Who are you? It's 3:00AM!
:Roberts: Apple should make a portable music player.
:Jobs: I'm calling the police.
:Roberts: Hey, idea — integrate it with a cell phone!

:[Scene has two of Elaine's activities. In one she is drumming, in the other she has an electric guitar on her shoulders, one hand on the frets. The other hand is holding a laptop by the touchpad.]
:She even, for a time, took up drumming, and helped start a movement among teen girls, a culture of self-taught female programmers and musicians, coding by day and rocking out by night—
:Roberts: Riot Prrl.

==Trivia==
This is the first xkcd comic featuring [[Steve Jobs]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:1337|03]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|1337]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Help I'm trapped in a driver's license factory Elaine Roberts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] <!--Both as the real Adrian Lamo and as the narrator from the previous comics. As they are not both shown in this comic it's not up for Multiple Cueballs-->
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Steve Jobs]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Fight Club]]
[[Category:CC-BY-SA comics]]