BBC Online 24/3/2000: "MI5 laptop snatched"

[Brian Gladman]

From: "Donald Ramsbottom" <donald@ramsbottom.co.uk>
To: <ukcrypto@maillist.ox.ac.uk>
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2000 3:15 PM
Subject: Re: BBC Online 24/3/2000: "MI5 laptop snatched"


> >> At 09:38 24/03/00 -0000, you wrote:
> >> >Lucky the chap wasn't enroute to Cheltenham with GTAC's main key
archive,
> >> >eh? Where was it GTAC is going to be physically located Simon ?
> >> >
> >>
> >> My thoughts entirely, not very reassuring is it,
> >
> >And I thought it was the general consensus here that good encryption is
so
> >secure that you can allow anyone to have access to your secrets, oh, for
50
> >years or so :-) You really can't have it both ways, you know.
> >
> As I said in my post it was not the content which was worrying, but the
fact
> that an "MI5" operative (of whatever level)was apparently duped by
> streetwise kids. That was what concerned me. I have little doubt that the
> contents will be secure provided that all protocols have been followed,
but

In my view the contents are not absolutely secure. If this computer was
stolen by 'kids' it will almost certainly defeat them but if this was a
targetted theft by a foreign power (possibly disguised) then I am much less
certain that the contents will remain secure.  Computer security, as
distinct from cryptographic algorithm security, is very, very hard to
achieve.

     Brian