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skmurphytoday at 4:58 PM1 replyview on HN

We are truly living in a science fiction future where quantum code cracking is not a remote possibility but a near term risk we are planning for.

In Vernor Vinge's novel "A Fire Upon the Deep" one of the most valuable commodities were one time pads that are physically transported to communication nodes to enable unbreakable communication. The pads are split into three pieces that are XORed to create the actual pad to reduce risk of compromise.


Replies

firesteelraintoday at 5:13 PM

That sounds a lot like Shamir Secret Sharing Algorithm similar to unsealing / sealing HashiCorp Vault.

I did read the books 20 years ago and forgot this aspect of the story