At 12:20 PM 2/4/2002, Bill Stewart wrote: >A smartcard-only system probably _is_ too limited to generate keys, >but that's the only realistic case I see.
Here are some manufacturer claims for the DataKey 330 smart card: average of 23 seconds to generate a 1,024-bit RSA key, average of 3 minutes to generate a 2,048-bit RSA key. In practice this becomes one of those "installing something new" delays on your computer. You stick the smart card into the reader and watch the watch dial spin or the hourglass or whatever. Once it's done, the thing is "installed" and you're ready to go. Unsophisticated users may worry that they'll face the same delay the next time it's plugged in, but presumably people will learn from experience. Of course, you don't want to use such a key to protect a set of closely held encryption keys that protect critical data, since you'll lose the data if the smart card gets damaged or breaks down. Rick. [EMAIL PROTECTED] roseville, minnesota "Authentication" in bookstores http://www.visi.com/crypto/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cryptography Mailing List Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
