Re:Stop Calling It “Military-Grade Encryption”
by jonathanstrange on Wednesday August 28, 2019 @04:29AM
(#20817918)
I'm fine with the phrase "military grade" if the combination of software and hardware is FIPS 140-2 Level 4 certified.
Re:Stop Calling It “Military-Grade Encryption”
by madez on Wednesday August 28, 2019 @04:39AM
(#20817980)
When it is FIPS 140-2 level 4 certified, they will let you know early enough so when it's missing you can easily tell.
Re:Stop Calling It “Military-Grade Encryption”
by dkersten on Wednesday August 28, 2019 @08:59AM
(#20819300)
Yeah, anything I've ever encountered that had certifications didn't say "military grade" or whatever, instead they always listed the certifications relatively prominently.
Re:Stop Calling It “Military-Grade Encryption”
by goalieca on Wednesday August 28, 2019 @03:54PM
(#20823448)
What part of the device is certified? The logic unit, the whole asic, the board, the appliance? Software too? Or what??
Re:Stop Calling It “Military-Grade Encryption”
by solarkraft on Wednesday August 28, 2019 @03:33AM
(#20817677)
My worst red flag is "proprietary". It gives me an instant head ache because it makes me think of bad quality, terrible documentation and just over all pain.
Re:Stop Calling It “Military-Grade Encryption”
by DonHopkins on Wednesday August 28, 2019 @03:46AM
(#20817739)
In the context of encryption, "proprietary" means "home grown". Or rather "home groan".
Re:Stop Calling It “Military-Grade Encryption”
by LandR on Wednesday August 28, 2019 @04:07AM
(#20817822)
Propretary is a huge red flag. Never roll your own crypto!
Re:Stop Calling It “Military-Grade Encryption”
by opan on Wednesday August 28, 2019 @04:32AM
(#20817940)
I've noticed this even with fast food commercials which say things like "our proprietary blend of spices" in a tone implying you should be excited about it.
Re:Stop Calling It “Military-Grade Encryption”
by mcv on Wednesday August 28, 2019 @04:57AM
(#20818055)
I'm fine with proprietary spice blends. At worst, it doesn't taste the way I want. But with encryption, "proprietary" means "untested", and that's a really bad idea.
Re:Stop Calling It “Military-Grade Encryption”
by Blackstone4 on Wednesday August 28, 2019 @04:14AM
(#20817851)
Military grade makes me think of symmetric key encryption which unlikely to be used in most of these situations.
Re:Stop Calling It “Military-Grade Encryption”
by kweks on Wednesday August 28, 2019 @04:04AM
(#20817809)
In regards to "Patent Pending" or "Patented Technology" - these are phrases that are legally defined.
Neither are snake oil (unless used in a fraudulent manner..), and can generally be interpreted as the product in question is objectively innovative.
> I actually do a double-take when a company says "Military-Grade", as I start to question how well they know cryptography, and if they may have picked an inferior algorithm thinking it's safe.
"Military grade" might sound good to marketing people, but to everyone that's actually involved in digital security, it sounds like it's made by people who have no idea what they're doing.
Another phrase like that is "patented technology" or "patent-pending". Maybe it sounds good to some people, but to to engineers it's a big red flag.