[Cryptography] USB 3.0 authentication

[Jerry Leichter]

> 
>> But then you get to the use of
>> "128-bit security for all cryptography", which is already sounding
>> like a bit of overkill...
> 
> Y'know, I don't think I believe in the idea of cryptographic overkill as
> such.  Not, at any rate, where there is a real need for that level of
> crypto *in any application.*....
Given the purported use case here - a way to identify certified power supplies and cables - "overkill" makes sense.  It's not even clear what security properties make sense for a USB 3 cable - yes, they contain chips, they are not purely passive devices - or how they might be attained, but the value of cheating *given that that's the problem you're trying to solve* make it hard to come up with a reasonable use for AES.

But keep in mind the point of my comment:  It wasn't so much that AES was overkill or that it was hard to credit that it wasn't there for additional purposes as well.

                                                        -- Jerry