[Cryptography] [cryptography] Show Crypto: prototype USB HSM

Jerry Leichter leichter at lrw.com
Wed Apr 13 19:16:23 EDT 2016


>> Yes, make it significantly smaller than the current form factor.
> 
> Ah.  OK, well, that is certainly doable, though how small you can make it is ultimately limited by the size of the display.  How small do you want it, and how much are you willing to pay?
I wonder if one could get rid of the display per se and add some kind of MEMS steerable laser to it.  The output would be projected onto some nearby surface.  This could be physically much smaller.

People have built "virtual keyboards" using this idea- here's a random one:  http://www.amazon.com/AGS-Wireless-Projection-Bluetooth-Smartphone/dp/B00MR26TUO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460589277&sr=8-1&keywords=laser+projector+keyboard

In another message, you suggested using a passphrase to unlock the thing, so even decapping wouldn't reveal the secrets.  That requires a secure input device.  Going all the way to a virtual keyboard might do the trick.  The keyboard doesn't have to be very good, just functional for this one purpose.

Of course, this would add significantly to cost, though the one I listed above only costs $40.   What size you could end up with isn't clear.

                                                        -- Jerry



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