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From: ccplumb@watnot.UUCP (Colin Plumb)
Newsgroups: sci.crypt
Subject: Re: This is *stupid*
Message-ID: <12256@watnot.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 3-Dec-86 16:59:19 EST
Article-I.D.: watnot.12256
Posted: Wed Dec  3 16:59:19 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 3-Dec-86 23:35:43 EST
References: <12246@watnot.UUCP> <3720@utcsri.UUCP>
Reply-To: ccplumb@watnot.UUCP (Colin Plumb)
Distribution: net
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 26

In article <3720@utcsri.UUCP> outer@utcsri.UUCP (Richard Outerbridge) writes:
>> And it finally happened: _Videocipher_has_been_busted_.
>
>So: does this mean they've busted DES or just the dynamic key management
>used by the Videocipher II?  Can anyone explain without being treasonable?
>[Breaking DES for under $1400.00 - even U.S. funds - sounds a neat trick!]

I'd say just M/A-Com's descrambler enabling system has been broken - breaking
DES in real time, for *any* amount of money, would be a neat trick!
I apologize for the fact the column wasn't well writen, but it seemed to be
relavent to the discussion here.  I should have added a disclaimer to the
effect that the views expresed in the quotation are those of the original
author, not me!

	-Colin Plumb (ccplumb@watnot.UUCP)

Zippy says:
I'm not an Iranian!!  I voted for Dianne Feinstein!!

P.S. I, too, would like to hear about how the cracking works... does anyone
out there know?

P.P.S. Probably the scheme involves some modifications to an existing
Videocipher box - in which case instructions for making the modification
shouldn't be any more illegal than posting diffs for copyrighted source -
probably less, since the box doesn't come with any sort of licensing agreement!