Re: The Future of Security

[Randy Witlicki <randy.witlicki () valley net>]

  Damir Rajnovic wrote:
> At 19:36 30/11/1999 -0500, Marcus J. Ranum wrote:
> > I think many things will become appliances, as computers move
> > into an ever-increasing household penetration. This will bring
> > up new sets of problems. What if someone hacks your toaster oven?
> > OK, that's probably not realistic, but what about Dreamcast, and
>
> I was unable to resist. There is, or rather, may be an implication of
> 'hacking a toaster'. Toaster may not be so good example but fridge
> is much better. Let us assume that fridge maintain time and date
> when door was opened last time. If one can hack into fridge and see
> that door was not opened for a several days one may assume that
> fridge owner is absent and one may attempt to break into a house.

  Sun has come up with the "Jini" technology ( www.jini.org )
and to quote from the web page:

  " Jini connection technology provides simple mechanisms
  which enable devices to plug together to form an
  impromptu community -- a community put together
  without any planning, installation, or human intervention.
  Each device provides services that other devices in the
  community may use. These devices provide their own
  interfaces, which ensures reliability and compatibility. "

  And yes, it does have a security architecture. I believe it
uses the Java 2 stuff (please don't throw rocks at this point unless
you can cite specific points about Java 2) which use, among other
things, digital certificates.
  But hey, if we can do a key exchange from our automobile to the
stove in our kitchen, then I won't have to be saying "Yes dear, I'm
sure the stove is turned off - trust me about this."

  - Randy
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