[saint_abroad]

> there are far cheaper and simpler methods that are also more reliable

Reminds me of crypto-nerd reality:

"His laptop's encrypted. Drug him and hit him with this $5 wrench until he tells us the password." https://xkcd.com/538/

[ebiester]

This is a descendent of a 1990 Usenet post. "Problem #2: is that white noise, or is it a one-time pad ? I dunno. Awfully hard to prove, isn't it ? Unless, of course, I left my radioactive source and oscillators lying around. Big deal, you zap me for a misdemeanor. You still don't get The Master Plan, unless you resort to the rubber-hose technique of cryptanalysis. (in which a rubber hose is applied forcefully and frequently to the soles of the feet until the key to the cryptosystem is discovered, a process that can take a surprisingly short time and is quite computationally inexpensive)"

source: https://groups.google.com/g/sci.crypt/c/W1VUQlC99LM/m/ANkI5z... via wikipedia.

[smnrchrds]

The good old rubber hose cryptanalysis.