"Dmitry Sklyarov and his colleagues at Elcomsoft have cracked the "image verification" system in high-end Canon cameras; this system digitally signs the photos you take so any alternations, "touch ups" or other modifications can be detected."
Does this mean all Canon users are banned from DPC? :-O
I doubt the DPS Site Council every used this technique to validate Canon images. SC uses it's own method of verifying images.
The issue is not that the SC used this technique, but that a user could edit a photo in a manner that leaves the EXIF data untouched, and therefore, nobody would be able to tell it had been manipulated.
...but that a user could edit a photo in a manner that leaves the EXIF data untouched, and therefore, nobody would be able to tell it had been manipulated.
The Canon data verification scheme does not rely on EXIF. Frankly, I'm not surprised that someone cracked it. It represented too attractive a target *not* to try to crack. The fact that it was cracked will only lead Canon to plug the hole, creating an even more secure system.
Problem is, to digitally sign something, you need a private key. With the private key, you can sign anything. Canon tried to hide the key, but someone (Dmitry Sklyarov) easily found it.
I doubt the DPS Site Council every used this technique to validate Canon images. SC uses it's own method of verifying images.
The issue is not that the SC used this technique, but that a user could edit a photo in a manner that leaves the EXIF data untouched, and therefore, nobody would be able to tell it had been manipulated.
Art Roflmao will be the first to use this, insert a Godzilla into a photo, and cause mass panic all over the world when his photos are authenticated as being real. Meanwhile, all of us at DPC will just sit back and think "Oh Art... up to his usual hijinx again"
Heh i found it interesting to come across this thread. It just reminds me of a time when threads that talked about editing exif and image verification where locked and either hidden or deleted. They always seemed like they wanted to hide this one fact, while most exif editors don't do a complete or proper job doesn't mean it couldn't be done easily.
The actual issue with the image signing being broken is the set back it has on things like legal matters. Courts have always been icky about digital images from sources other than law enforcement as evidence and being able to verify an image was such a nice thing when it came around. I dunno how it is now but I remember with accidents they always wanted film, anyone remember what happens to film at high temperatures for long periods of time. Even in the glovebox many climates get hot enough to make leaving a disposable in the glove useless if for too long a time.
What a wonderful digital world we live in. Suprised i didn't read this elsewhere in the news.
