Exactly. :) And even without magic telekinetic AI lifeforms, a monoculture of proprietary transponders leaves you incredibly vulnerable. All it takes is for the bad guys to identify one exploit, and the entire Imperial traffic control (and IFF) system falls apart. Much better to publish the cryptographically-strong protocol, require all ships operating in the Imperium to respond to that protocol and the regulations surrounding it (e.g., submitting data for the shipping registry), and then let the free market take it from there.

On Wed, Apr 3, 2019 at 9:10 AM Bruce Johnson <xxxxxx@pharmacy.arizona.edu> wrote:

On Apr 2, 2019, at 5:27 PM, James Catchpole (via tml list) <xxxxxx@simplelists.com> wrote:

I see the transponder issue as being one of not guaranteeing security but making it *difficult* for wrongdoers - within the Imperium at least.

I was thinking that the transponder would be the key element, set up and sealed by the starport authority with a variety of anti-tamper mechanisms whose job is not to stop unauthorised access to the box, but to render it unusable if you do (including destroying the storage that contains the keys). That makes it *difficult* for anyone to get hold of any private keys - but not impossible (the corsair, for instance, is described as having a transponder that can be switched between several IDs).

[Dons nomex underwear, fire suit, adjusts flame suppression systems to trigger properly]

Ahem; this exact kind of thing was what lead the Imperium to adopt Cymbelline origin silicon lifeforms as the basis of their transponder systems.

Which, of course, let Virus do it’s thing…..

--
Bruce Johnson
University of Arizona
College of Pharmacy
Information Technology Group

Institutions do not have opinions, merely customs

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