Yes. And the only person I know to have interacted with state security agencies in professional area has told me a few times that any security system based on cryptography is of no real use. Like perpetuum mobile, snake oil, and so on.
If your information is protected by cryptography, it could as well be protected by using “Aesopean language” or memorized by loyal courier or put on paper note in a secret place. You have a secret and a message, ultimately. If your secret place can be predicted, then your secret key can be stolen. If your loyal courier can be drugged\tortured\intimidated, so can be you or your addressee or your cryptography means’ providers to give up the secret key or the message contents or to sabotage your tools.
“Aesopean language” is how they really do it for anything important, it’s pretty naturally learned from culture (one case where spy movies and such show it right), it doesn’t require niche expertise, and it does require common context that can’t be fully reconstructed in most cases. The fuzziness of meaning is a feature, so is the disconnect of responsibility.
Unfortunately I’m autistic and impaired in that exact part of human communication, but honestly some of famous people whose jobs involve being enlightened black belt masters of that are autistic, so perhaps I’m just dumb.
EDIT: But it’s funny that once I thought that the commonly imagined way this works is a trap for illiterate people, and technical means like cryptography are what really should be used. Perhaps, again, some sort of autistic compensation. Now I know better.
Yes. And the only person I know to have interacted with state security agencies in professional area has told me a few times that any security system based on cryptography is of no real use. Like perpetuum mobile, snake oil, and so on.
If your information is protected by cryptography, it could as well be protected by using “Aesopean language” or memorized by loyal courier or put on paper note in a secret place. You have a secret and a message, ultimately. If your secret place can be predicted, then your secret key can be stolen. If your loyal courier can be drugged\tortured\intimidated, so can be you or your addressee or your cryptography means’ providers to give up the secret key or the message contents or to sabotage your tools.
“Aesopean language” is how they really do it for anything important, it’s pretty naturally learned from culture (one case where spy movies and such show it right), it doesn’t require niche expertise, and it does require common context that can’t be fully reconstructed in most cases. The fuzziness of meaning is a feature, so is the disconnect of responsibility.
Unfortunately I’m autistic and impaired in that exact part of human communication, but honestly some of famous people whose jobs involve being enlightened black belt masters of that are autistic, so perhaps I’m just dumb.
EDIT: But it’s funny that once I thought that the commonly imagined way this works is a trap for illiterate people, and technical means like cryptography are what really should be used. Perhaps, again, some sort of autistic compensation. Now I know better.