Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!bellcore!decvax!yale!cmcl2!brl-adm!brl-smoke!gwyn
From: gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn )
Newsgroups: sci.crypt
Subject: Re: One time pads?
Message-ID: <7272@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: 17 Feb 88 18:56:19 GMT
References: <4209@june.cs.washington.edu> <1988Feb15.151522.5094@utzoo.uucp>
Reply-To: gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) <gwyn>)
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab (BRL), APG, MD.
Lines: 8

In article <1988Feb15.151522.5094@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes:
>this is a double-edged sword:  the messages cannot be decrypted but the
>substantial pads of random numbers pose concealment problems.

Yes, possession of such a pad would be considered evidence of ill intent.
Keys that can be carried in one's head (or looked up in commonly available
books) have a practical advantage here, although they are not absolutely
secure.