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'World's smallest combination lock' promises to foil even the best computer hacker

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  • 05-03-2003 5:46pm
    #1
    dahamsta
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,659 ✭✭✭✭


    'World's smallest combination lock' promises to foil even the best computer hacker, say Sandia devleopers

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The "world's smallest combination lock," a minuscule mechanical device developed at Sandia National Laboratories, promises to build a virtually impenetrable computer firewall that even the best hacker can't beat.

    The Recodable Locking Device, which uses microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology so small that it takes a microscope to see it, is a series of tiny notched gears that move to the unlocked position only when the right code is entered. It's the first known mechanical hardware designed to keep unwanted guests from breaking codes and illegally entering computer and other secure systems.

    "Computer firewalls have always been dependent on software, which means they are 'soft' and subject to manipulations," says Larry Dalton, manager of Sandia's High Integrity Software Systems Engineering Department. "Our device is hardware and is extremely difficult to break into. You have one and only one chance in a million of picking exactly the right code compared to a one in 10,000 chance, with many additional chances, in most software firewalls. After one failed try, this new device mechanically shuts down and can't be reset and reopened except by the owner."

    [...]


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    #2
    Chaos-Engine
    Closed Accounts Posts: 772 ✭✭✭Chaos-Engine


    Originally posted by dahamsta
    After one failed try, this new device mechanically shuts down and can't be reset and reopened except by the owner.

    Lol
    I can see it now
    Permaniently offline..
    Most Static IPs get hit every day
    even me(a simple little home user) gets many intrusions a week..
    It just not practical to have your network taken Offline each time it is attacked... lol


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    #3
    ecksor
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 10,501 Mod ✭✭✭✭ecksor


    It may not be practical for you, but for others it may be. Also, locking an authentication mechanism doesn't mean that other services have to be effected. In the context of your home setup, it could control a user's access from the Internet to you, and a lockup could require you to access it directly from your home site to allow access again.


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    #4
    dahamsta
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,659 ✭✭✭✭dahamsta


    What ecksor said. I'm not sure how they propose to implement it though. I mean, local and remote access is controlled by software, right? How do you lock down software with a mechanical device?

    adam


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