[free-sklyarov] FBI IS REPORTEDLY USING SURVEILLANCE WORM

[Christopher R. Maden]

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At 14:33 3-12-2001, Jeme A Brelin wrote:
>What good is the passphrase without the private key?  Does it capture
>those, too?

The private key is stored in an encrypted file using symmetric encryption 
(i.e., traditional encryption, where the same key encrypts and 
decrypts).  The FBI can get your private keyring using the same methods 
that they can use to get other files, under a search warrant, but without 
the passphrase, it's very difficult to tell what the key actually is and 
therefore to access any files you may have encrypted with it.  Intercepting 
the passphrase allows them to discover the private key and thence to 
recover any encrypted files.

As long as this all happens under a search warrant, as in the Nicky Scarfo 
case in New Jersey, it's not really problematic.

Just a reminder: I'll be giving a seminar on stuff like this tomorrow 
evening in San Francisco.  E-mail me for details.

~crism
- -- 
Libertarian candidate, California State Assembly, District 13
Free Sklyarov: <URL: http://www.freesklyarov.org/ >
Freelance text nerd: <URL: http://crism.maden.org/ >
PGP Fingerprint: BBA6 4085 DED0 E176 D6D4  5DFC AC52 F825 AFEC 58DA
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