Editing 1553: Public Key
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
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− | + | In [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_cryptography Public-key cryptography], two keys are generated for a user. The public key can be used to encrypt messages, but not decrypt them. The private key is necessary for decryption, and as its name implies, is meant to be used solely by the user. | |
− | + | Since the public key is designed to be shared, anyone who has that key can send the user an encrypted message that only he or she can decrypt. Cueball has been following this rule, but he notices that it appears nobody has ever used his public key for anything. He contemplates sharing his ''private'' key, which he believes would generate more interest in him personally. However, he appears to overlook the fact that doing so would allow anyone to decrypt messages sent to him, thus defeating the entire purpose of encryption. | |
− | + | The title text refers to another feature of Public-key cryptography: Messages can be "signed" with the private key. Anyone can read a signed message, but readers with the public key can also verify that the owner of the private key wrote (or at least signed) the message. If Cueball published his private key, anybody could sign any message as him, also defeating the purpose of encryption. | |
− | + | {{w|Crowdsourcing}} is the term used for delegating work or tasks to a largely volunteered and uncontrolled set of people on the Internet. It is similar in concept to {{w|outsourcing}}, in which work is delegated to an external source of labor, typically a company in a foreign country. Famous instances of crowdsourcing include {{w|reCAPTCHA}} (in which users both verify they are human and help digitize words and phrases in books that digitization software cannot understand) and [http://www.ideaconnection.com/open-innovation-success/Crowdsourcing-Down-on-the-Farm-00304.html a farm in the UK] in which ordinary Internet users make decisions about how the farm is run. In Cueball's case, delegating decisions about his contracts and spending to the Internet is not likely to be a wise choice. | |
− | + | Randall previously ironically mentioned a public key in [http://xkcd.com/370/ Redwall]. | |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | + | [In the first panel, Cueball is sitting in a chair and is using a laptop.] | |
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− | : | + | Cueball: I've been posting my public key for 15 years now, but no one has ever asked me for it or used it for anything as far as I can tell. |
− | + | [Two panels with Cueball thinking silently.] | |
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+ | Cueball: Maybe I should try posting my ''private'' key instead. | ||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Cryptography]] | [[Category:Cryptography]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] |