Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Some security problems are theoretically solvable, some are not. This one is not solvable, you can't get closer to solved as there is no "solved" state.

For example, sending a message between party A and party B so no party C can read it is possible, given that party A and party B have some way to pre-share key. Sending a message from party A to party B in a way that party B knows it is from party A but is unable to prove it to any third-party is, again, possible under some reasonable conditions, see OTR/Axolotl. Sending a message from party A to party B in a way party B can read the message but can't resend it is impossible under any conditions.

In most cases DRM-like functionality is a bullshit. Secret sharing is known to protect against outsiders only. You can use it to split backups so they are harder to steal [1]. The scheme will never work for cases when malicious party has the whole secret at some point in time.

[1] https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/07/dnssec_root_k...



Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: