[Cryptography] looking for a word

Peter Fairbrother peter at tsto.co.uk
Tue Jan 7 12:32:33 EST 2020


First of all, thank you to everybody who replied, both on and off-list.

On 07/01/2020 12:38, ao402468 at gmail.com wrote:
[..]
> To abstract the object.

I had independently come up with that word - but ao402468 published 
first. Darn, but not liver-gnawing time :)

Words people have come up with:

steal
pirate
leak
plagiarise
breach
mirror
clone
replicate
image
intercept
disseminate
breach
transgress
microfilm
xerox
exfiltrate
decrypt
expose
disclose
compromise
extract
copy
pinch
crib
abstract


"Copy" is good, and obvious, but doesn't have the emotional connotations 
of stealing: scenario, you are a secure database operator/designer and 
someone has - "whatevered" - your data. You are right royally pi**ed off 
and want to nail the f#*#*#*s to a wall and stick knitting needles in 
their bellies and watch them die slowly and insane from peritonitis. If 
you can keep yourself from killing the s#!*-gobbing _F$*#S_ sooner.

"Copy" seems a little weak for what they did.


"Crib" and "pinch" are also good, but both have or had a specific crypto 
meaning, "crib" being a known or guessed plaintext, and "pinch" meaning 
crypto things stolen by non-cryptanalytic means. Both are a little weak. 
Both are also a bit skoolboyish.


I think "abstract" is probably the best word available, but am a little 
worried that most people will not be aware of the secondary meaning of 
abstract. It doesn't necessarily involve dishonesty, but it is sometimes 
used that way - eg abstraction of electricity, an offense under UK law; 
you can't steal electricity as it is not a thing, so the offense is 
"abstraction" not "theft".

Any further thoughts? This usage will eventually go in a book, which 
probably no-one will ever read, but if they do you may end up using 
whatever the final choice is...

Again, thank you all for your help.

;-)


Peter Fairbrother


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