Linux-Hams archive - March 1998: Security

Security

Ben Kram (terhi.victor@logonet.com)
Sun, 1 Mar 1998 15:24:43 -0500 (EST)


This is a general interest message regarding security.

Every week, I participate in a computer net here in baltimore, MD. This
week we talked about security and ham radio.

Now we are forbidden to encrypt data - but we can agree on protocalls
-i.e. ax25 - that we dein not to be encryption, because the means for
interpreting the packets is open and available.

Lately on my campus (I am a johns hopkins student) we have had problems
with packet snooping - and system breakins.

So - we have an uncomfortable intersection. We agree as hams overall,
simply not to look at eachother's passwords etc. when we log in, but this
is not terribly secure.

One alternative is a request systerm, where the authentication is done by
the server asks you a question (i.e the number 234252) and you look up on
a chart the coordinating word (i.e. FISH) and thus you are authenticated
and you password is different every time.

I usually use ssh for authentication, but of course I can't over ham
radio.

So I am interested in any thoughts or knowledge people have on this.

-ben
kc2cib

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buffalo buffalo fish buffalo buffalo fish buffalo buffalo fish.
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