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The following archive was created by hippie-mail 7.98617-22 on Fri Aug 21 1998 - 17:16:49 ADT
Ryan Lackey (rdl@MIT.EDU)
Wed, 01 Apr 1998 10:56:21 EST
(Subtle marketing ploy: I really don't think discussion of the ibutton
hardware is germane to CodherPlunks stuff. There is ibuttonpunks now, after all
:), eh)
Simon Spero wrote:
> > [plastic ibutton readers]
> I found the datasheet on www.dalsemi.com; kind of makes me a little
> nervous as to how well it would stand up to abuse, especially the cabling.
> strange given how robust the ring looked (seemed mocha proof :-)
>
> http://www.dalsemi.com/DocControl/PDFs/1416d.pdf
>
> What might be a neat form factor for this hardware might be a key (you
> could leave the button in the keyring like it is now, , and move the
> contacts out to the tip of a fake key)
These are plastic frobs designed to get mounted on a computer. They velcro
on and off, but are generally normal computer things. I think they're about
as strong as my laptop, which customarily gets toted around in one of those
aluminium drug-dealer-$100 000-briefcases. I take the reader off and put
it on top, since it doesn't quite fit into the compartment I built for it
otherwise.
For a desktop computer, it's also perfectly acceptable to have a plastic thing
and a normal serial cable. Otherwise, my mouse is a horridly underengineered
thing.
For outdoor/architectural/ruggedized/etc. use, a lot of companies make
stainless steel "outdoor" ibutton blue dots. I've built a wooden/glass/steel
chest (well, I've cut the pieces, haven't assembled it yet...later today)
which has an ibutton reader made out of metal feeding a processor which
controls a 3600 pound magnetic latch. I assure you, it's quite ruggedized
(next version will put all the electronics inside, this was just proof
of concept, and a TV stand).
ibutton hardware can be made arbitrarily rugged, I believe. Certainly more
so than mechanical locks. I *like* the ring mount more than a key, but
in some cases, sheltering the ring more and putting on external contacts
makes more sense -- particularly if you're going places where they might
be exposed to -40 degree temps, since that triggers zeroization.
I've mostly given up on mechanical locking devices, after seeing someone
pick a medeco (which I previously believed to be unpickable) in about 20
minutes. A strong cryptographic lock system using ibuttons and an
appropriate door locking mechanism would be substantially more secure,
robust, reliable, and auditable. And *cheaper*. Coupled with biometrics and
known-secrets, you could do high security access control at the highest
level in a decentralized fashion and have it cost less than current
lower-security systems.
-- Ryan Lackey rdl@mit.edu http://mit.edu/rdl/
The following archive was created by hippie-mail 7.98617-22 on Fri Aug 21 1998 - 17:16:49 ADT