Re: encrypting .authinfo?

[Simon Josefsson <jas@extundo.com>]

Stainless Steel Rat <ratinox@peorth.gweep.net> writes:

> * Steven Elliot Harris <seharris@raytheon.com>  on Fri, 19 Dec 2003
> | I'll bite. If .authinfo contains several passwords for different
> | servers, it's more of a password "vault" with a single key. For every
> | password I add to the unencrypted file, I'm adding risk of exposure in
> | trade for convenience. Adding a password to encrypt the file restores
> | a single point of security to multiple points of convenience.
>
> .authinfo is mostly known or easilly obtained plain text, including the
> machine, login and password keywords, your login name and the names or IP
> addresses of your NNTP servers.  This makes it vulnerable to known plain
> text attacks.  Encrypting .authinfo will keep out keep out casual snoopers,
> but you can already do that with proper file permissions.  It will not stop
> a concerted attack.

Good tools are not vulnerable to known plain text attacks.  If
crypt++.el support GnuPG, then that should suffice, but I'm not sure
if crypt++.el handle `insert-file-contents' which is what netrc.el
uses.  Perhaps netrc.el has to be changed slightly to support this.

> And by the way, that may be irrelevant.  Unless you use NNTP over SSL or
> through SSH tunnels, your credentials are sent in the clear for any packet
> sniffer to see.

Exactly.