[Cryptography] Crypto and rustling

[Dave Horsfall]

I've just started reading "Robbery Under Arms" (a story about 
cattle/horse/sheep rustling in Australia), and given the recent thread 
about how Enigma could be improved using only technology available at the 
time), a thought occurred to me:

How would an owner design a brand that could not be altered, and how could 
a rustler get around it?  For example, the owner would not use a single 
letter (a circle for example could be branded around it), and would not 
use letters that could be altered (such as F -> E, L -> E, O -> Q, T -> I, 
etc), whereas a rustler would have to find a compliant blacksmith.

In crypto terms, it should be infeasible to turn one brand into another.

-- 
Dave Horsfall DTM (VK2KFU)  "Those who don't understand security will suffer."