Talk:Rubber-hose cryptanalysis

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[edit] Source?

Temporarily moved here from the article:

Torture has been employed in real situations in just this way.

I'm slightly skeptical that this has been documented, or at least, it would be better if we could actually cite an example of where this has taken place. — Matt 20:19, 12 Jun 2004 (UTC)

One well documented example would be the the Snowtown murders. Before being strangled, butchered and stuffed in barrels of acid, some of the victims were tortured to reveal their banking PINs - and also forced to read scripts that were later spliced into messages used to throw their families off the track, and keep their welfare cheques flowing. They were tortured not with rubber hoses, but with electric shocks, fire, knives and pliers [1]. A vaguely similar case - involving partial strangulation, rape, and torture with fire to extract a PIN, but only one victim, and no murder this time - is here. (Quite possibly it was inspired by Snowtown.) (I had also heard that this is a relatively common crime in South Africa, but the only references I could find were to sadistic torture or vigilantism, rather than extracting PINs.)
However, I suspect that the grisly horror of actual torture cases would be a distraction from the essence of the article, which is designing protocols which obviate torture. Securiger 15:25, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Not coined by sci.crypt

It is mentioned that the term rubber-hose cryptanalysis was coined in the sci.crypt group. This is not true. Quote from sci.crypt: "Shorthand for any method of coercion: the originator of the term drily noted that it 'can take a surprisingly short time and is quite computationally inexpensive' relative to other cryptanalysis methods". To find the real originator of the term, we should ask Marcus J. Ranum, the writer of that article on sci.crypt. The real originator could also be asked if he was really thinking of beatings with a rubber hose, or of the torture method that was employed by nazi's in WWII: sticking a rubber hose (garden hose) in someone's rectum and filling his intestines and stomach with water until (s)he broke. Excruciatingly painful according to survivors. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 161.85.127.139 (talkcontribs)

[edit] Synonyms

In Russian language it's usually called "thermorectal cryptoanalysis". Means soldering iron. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.207.115.213 (talk) 15:48, 26 March 2008 (UTC)


[edit] Better use of Rubber hose

IMO, beating with a rubber hose is less efficient (or successful) than using the rubber hose on the neck (for strangulation). Before reading the details, I was actually under the opinion that the rubber hose is applied to the neck. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.140.15.168 (talk) 23:36, 23 May 2008 (UTC)