[Cryptography] RIP Claude Shannon

[Walter van Holst]

On 2016-02-24 19:10, Ray Dillinger wrote:

> Of course, why the hell the brass wanted *voice*, specifically,
> so badly they'd go through an expensive delicate difficult
> procedure that took international courier deliveries of keying
> material to set up, and involved additional humint security
> risks?  And required hiring a guy like Claude Shannon and
> however many academic and army technicians to design and
> develop new hardware?  It's a dubious priority. Possibly has
> something to do with biometric proof of authentication (by
> recognizing the individual voice on the other end). People
> like Rich Little could spoof it of course, but that's a
> fairly rare skill.

Because voice gives an immediate interaction and allows for more of a 
personal relationship, not to mention the little things like intonation 
and the little bits of non-verbal communication that voice still does. 
No need for smileys, because you can hear the laughter, anger, grief, 
disbelief, passion, anxiety etc. in one's voice. Necessary for fast 
decision-making processes. Telegraphs were used for purposes for which 
we now use mail. But little beats just sitting face to face to hash 
something quickly out. And voice telephony comes closest to that.

Regards,

  Walter