A-227: Spanial


Lia Day 44

Lia’s Widgets

No.  It has to be player choice on this one.

However, Esha once said that she used a secure storage widget that she only accessed from her own personal device – see below.  Esha also said that anything really important, you make a copy of and put somewhere else that is safe and far away.


Storage options:

Hardcopy

A journal or notebook.  Expensive ones may be physically lockable or store-able inside a secure container.
  • Pros  
    • Can’t be hacked  
    • Can be physically secured 
    • Can include a self-destruct (though this can be dangerous)
  • Cons
    • Difficult to encrypt
    • Harder to make copies
    • Bulky

Widget

Standard Dominion offline storage media.  Plugs into a device to compose entries.  Voice dictation an option.

Securable options are available.

Mechanical lock – a physical device prevents access to the widget’s plug (also applies to hardcopy security)
Electronic lock – interfaces with the storage software to allow access and encrypt/decrypt the data, these are more secure should the device fall into unfriendly hands

Either or both types of lock can be connected.

The locks can generally be secured through a variety of mechanisms, including:
  • A mechanical key (something you have)
  • an ID tag reader (something you have)
  • a separate card or dongle reader (something you have)
  • combination lock/password reader (something you know)
  • combination lock/password reader with time-sensitive password (something you know + something you have (the passcode dongle))
  • fingerprint reader (something you are)
  • retinal scans (something you are)
  • voiceprint ID (something you are)
  • DNA scanner (something you are)
Multi-factor authentication can be applied for extra secuirty, where multiple methods must be presented to gain access.

NB:  Biometrics like fingerprints are fairly secure, and can also clearly identify who owns a device.  This can be a good or a bad thing, depending on the circumstances.

Additional security can be provided with self-destruct or anti-tampering devices, which may destroy the data or injure an intruder, or both.  These can be physical or electronic destruction.

eg:  Thurston-Thurston-Thurston’s secure widget was electronically encrypted with a thumbprint reader and an electronic data destruct device that activated after multiple unrecognised thumbprint reads or someone attempted to physically break into the device.

  • Pros  
    • Relatively secure
    • Encryptable should it fall into unfriendly hands  
    • Readily portable 
    • Easy to make copies
    • Physical access usually required to hack
    • Can include a self-destruct
  • Cons
    • Can be lost or stolen
    • Encryption can sometimes be defeated over time
    • Needs a third-party device to use (potential weak point – eg if she plugs it into Spanial, is that system making another copy somewhere?)
    • Can be hacked while connected

Online Storage

With access to encryption software, she can store data blobs on her NetPages.

  • Pros  
    • Encryption can be somewhat secure
    • Protected against loss
  • Cons
    • Hackable
    • Requires a connection to upload, may need to be temporarily stored on a widget
    • Authorities will be able to access data easily if suspicious
    • Probably can’t be deleted
    • Easily tracked to the page owner
 

Inside a Device

She can store it inside a personal laptop or PDA.  Security options are similar to a Widget.

  • Pros  
    • More convenient
    • Likely to have better control over secondary saving than someone else’s terminal
    • As per widget
  • Cons
    • More frequent connection of device to other networks and devices increases hacking opportunities
    • Device is a more obvious target for theft or confiscation by authorities
    • As per widget

Lia Day 45

Thingummy Hoop

They seem excited to have figured something out too.

Though note that ‘fits over’ is different from ‘connected to,’ this is looking more like the silver cylinder/tentacle is a reassembled part of a Yarg and the thingummy hoop is something they wear.  

Unless they do put the silver mesh on over the top and the hoop is some sort of buckle?



1 Response

  1. Lia Silver-Rose says:

    Well. It’s taken me this long to properly sit down and figure out the best options for Lia’s storage of information.

    Can you please clarify the meaning of
    Combination lock/password reader with time-sensitive password
    And explain how that is a combination of something she knows and something she has?

    She has followed Esha’s advice and owns a secure storage widget that is only accessed by her personal device, I’m just trying to figure out exactly what combination of things she has used to secure it.

    There is a separate widget with identical information and similar security but I need assistance in determining where in the Dominion she might have put it. Where would be somewhere she might deem safe? Are there banks with safe deposit boxes? I’m flying a little blind with this one.

    She also keeps a hard copy – shall we say little black book? It is written in a unique code of her own devising. Look up Anne Lister for reference of a unique code that took a lengthy period to decipher.

    Sigh You seem determined that Lia shall have a moral quandary about those scales…

    Incidentally, she is going to take a copy of the research paper on the Yarg that was recovered from the ship.

    There are also two other widgets with doctored information on Lia’s research. One is intended to be handed over once they have their meeting with Zayaire (via Karmen I assume.) The other Lia is keeping with her as a personal blind.

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