Banks and 128 bit DES

[David Hansen]

On 21 Mar 00, at 11:40, paulfordh@uk.ibm.com wrote:

> Then I thought .. Why not go to the https site and look at the crypto
> used. My browser reports 128 bit RC4, with a cert issued by Verisign -

Not 128 bit DES though. It may report 168 bit triple DES which is an 
option on my browser, but never 128 bit DES.
 
> I _really_ hope we aren't all getting hot under the collar because
> someone mixed up RC4 and DES in some marketing blurb ... are we ?

It was not "some marketing blurb", it was a specific response to a 
specific question. In my business if a potential customer goes to all 
the trouble of asking a specific question we try and get the answer 
right. These jokers are the people government thinks we should trust, 
but they can't even get elementary facts correct.

Even if it was "some marketing blurb" things like the Property 
Misdescription Act show that such blurb is increasingly expected to 
be accurate.





 David Hansen | davidh@spidacom.co.uk  | PGP email preferred
 Edinburgh    | CI$ number 100024,3247 | key number F566DA0E