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An interesting computer security project: Dice Keys
The purpose is to generate encryption keys with a high level of entropy. Specifically, it's a kit of 25 dice that get locked in to a 5x5 grid. For each die, the die is individually numbered, each face is individually numbered, and the rotation is individually numbered! Because of this, the entropy possible is 2^196, or 124,127,134,662,179,891,202,329,100,571,859,806,502,566,406,865,813,504,000,000! That's a bloody huge number!
Here's what it looks like after you shake the dice in the provided bag, roll them into the provided plastic cage and lock them down:
After you roll the dice and lock it down, you use a smartphone app to capture the dice and an app generates the key, which you can use within your phone or copy into a USB key. The best thing is that the software that generates the key is open source, so if the company disappears, as long as you still have your dice or a picture of it, you can still regenerate your key! And the case design is such that if you drop it (or a toddler accident), it won't accidentally pop open and spill the dice all over the place.
Bruce Schneier, noted encryption expert, is a consultant on the project.
I ordered two of them, I think they're pretty cool. And at $25 for the basic kit, they're not too expensive. Honestly, I don't know if I'll ever use it, but the potential utility is quite good. And since they've already built 900 kits and sent them to the fulfillment center, there's zero chance that the project will not succeed.
https://www.crowdsupply.com/dicekeys/dicekeys
Here's what it looks like after you shake the dice in the provided bag, roll them into the provided plastic cage and lock them down:
After you roll the dice and lock it down, you use a smartphone app to capture the dice and an app generates the key, which you can use within your phone or copy into a USB key. The best thing is that the software that generates the key is open source, so if the company disappears, as long as you still have your dice or a picture of it, you can still regenerate your key! And the case design is such that if you drop it (or a toddler accident), it won't accidentally pop open and spill the dice all over the place.
Bruce Schneier, noted encryption expert, is a consultant on the project.
I ordered two of them, I think they're pretty cool. And at $25 for the basic kit, they're not too expensive. Honestly, I don't know if I'll ever use it, but the potential utility is quite good. And since they've already built 900 kits and sent them to the fulfillment center, there's zero chance that the project will not succeed.
https://www.crowdsupply.com/dicekeys/dicekeys
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The application is going to be released for open source, so you don't need an app! :-)
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Gotcha. Yeah, it's a case of "I don't need it now, but if I get back in to IT, it could come in handy to have." I consider myself semi-retired from IT (and happily so!). If an absolutely amazing offer comes up post-COVID, it might merit re-evaluation, but I'm not making much of an effort to maintain my skills. My knowledge of relational database design will not decay, but my knowledge of the SQL Server GUI will become increasingly stale-dated as they come out with new editions.