IP: Encryption Keys Vulnerable, Researchers Warn

[farber () cis upenn edu <farber () cis upenn edu>]

----Original Message-----
From:           "the terminal of Geoff Goodfellow" <geoff () iconia com>
To:             "Dave E-mail Pamphleteer Farber" <farber () cis upenn edu>
Subject:        Encryption Keys Vulnerable, Researchers Warn 
Date:           Sunday, January 09, 2000 1:27 AM

http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2417628,00.html

Encryption Keys Vulnerable, Researchers Warn
By Doug Brown, By Doug Brown, Inter@ctive Week
January 5, 2000 5:38 PM ET

Researchers at an English company announced Wednesday that they found a way to
pluck from Web servers "keys" that provide access to private data stored on
servers, such as credit-card numbers.

The revelation that hackers can break into servers and steal encryption keys
could have repercussions throughout the electronic commerce landscape.
Companies have long struggled with ensuring customers' privacy in the face of
increasing hacker ingenuity, but encryption keys were generally believed to
dwell in a safe haven.

"It's a pretty big deal," said Tom Hopcroft, president of the Massachusetts
Electronic Commerce Association. "Currently, people feel that their keys for
credit-card numbers are pretty safe, because they are on a server with a lot of
other data, where they might be hard to find."

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Geoff_Goodfellow () iconia com, Prague CZ * tel/mobil +420 (0)603 706 558
"Success is getting what you want & happiness is wanting what you get"
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/01/biztech/articles/17drop.html