lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein) (08/17/85)
If DES is truly as flawed as some apparently are claiming, it's going to cause a great deal of trouble. The "block boxes" that some are talking about may be references to the "secure phone" project recently announced, which would use "secret" algorithms. However, I have doubts about how widely a "secret" algorithm will be accepted by the country or world at large for other purposes. Look at how many papers were published by people suspicious of DES... and the details of how it worked (other than where the S-boxes came from) were published. A completely "secret" algorithm would come in for even more suspicion, and I suspect that many organizations would refuse to use it for fear of "unknown" flaws or trapdoors. Where this leaves commercial data security in this country is an open question. --Lauren--