REPLY: 2:221/1.58@fidonet f8e44f3a   
   MSGID: 1:3634/12.73 61f66464   
   PID: GED+LNX 1.1.5-b20180707   
   CHRS: CP437 2   
   TZUTC: -0500   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 17-02-17   
    On 2022 Jan 29 09:12:00, you wrote to Wilfred van Velzen:   
      
    WvV>> An attacker with enough resources could in theory find some or all   
    WvV>> passwords. And of course that becomes progressively easier in the   
    WvV>> future...   
      
    AA> I am not impressed with the reports that people can process millions   
    AA> of hashes per second using dedicated GPUs.  So what if the hashes are   
    AA> decoded.   
      
   you're missing something here... it isn't the hashes being decoded... they're   
   just a large number... it is the use of them to decode messages that is the   
   goal... the faster you calculate hashes to beat against the encoded message to   
   see if there's anything legible in the result, the faster you can gain access   
   to that information...   
      
    AA> They can't do anything with them to target millions of people enmasse   
    AA> anyway. I think they would have to target SPECIFIC accounts and run   
    AA> the passwords one by one.   
      
   if something is found in passing, then specific accounts may gain closer looks   
   at their traffic...   
      
    AA> In Safester, the decoded hash would reveal the passphrase, but the   
    AA> decrypting of the messages would be useless without the user's key   
    AA> which would reside in the local Safester prog or app.   
      
   if i were to intercept an encoded message and want to decode it, i wouldn't be   
   worrying about the passphrase or the key... i'd concentrate on throwing hashes   
   at the message and seeing if anything legible appeared at the end of the   
   decode phase... if there was nothing, then throw another hash at it and look   
   again...   
      
   )\/(ark   
      
   "The soul of a small kitten in the body of a mighty dragon. Look on my   
   majesty, ye mighty, and despair! Or bring me catnip. Your choice. Oooh, a   
   shiny thing!"   
   ... Cats are not dogs! -P.G. Wodehouse   
   ---   
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