How extensive is Yamatai's ability to intercept comms?

[DocTomoe]

How extensive is Yamatai's ability to intercept communications? Laser communications? focused subspace transmission? broadcast transmission? Well, pretty much the full range.

 

[Tyler]

I think it's more a result that someone doesn't want anything happening that could mean worlds are doing something other than bending over for the empire. What's so wrong with having friends that aren't YSA?

 

[sada sakue]

It's harder to secure something than breaking it open (given the right tools, of course).

Besides, the weakest part of an encrypted communication is not the communication itself, but the sender and the reciever. You could use the best, unbreakable code in the universe, thoses two are still mostly human, and could give away the information uncoded (voluntarily, or not).

War for information is not about how much info you intercept, but how fast you decode it, since you can pretty much intercept everything.

 

[Vesper]

I agree with you about the terminal components of the communication being major weakpoints. However, i believe that actual military communications personal are selected for there reliability and must pass security clearances beyond what normal crewman must do (which helps ensure they are reliable and trustworthy). I would imagine the YSE would follow with a similar practice of only allowing trsutworthy and reliable individuals into MOS. While it is certainly true that a individuals views and alliegences could shift during the course of there military service, it is the duty of there superiors to notice these changes and, should they feel they will compramise the characters ability to fullfil there duty securly, to relieve them of the position.

Not all communiques need be transmitted directly. Admittedly, i do not know how FTL communications operate in this setting, but It makes sense that a directional beam could be made, thus hugely decreasing the chances of interception (especially considering the vastness of space). Should a communique prove to be to important to risk interception, the tried and true courier could be used to essentially eliminate any chance of enemy forces aquiring the data.

 

[Yangfan]

How well can Yamatai intercept and decrypt transmissions? *looks around* Well, to tell you the tru-
message terminated

 

[Zack]

Using the RDD Star Army ships are capable of transmiting signals to eachother (provided they know eachother's exact location) without the possibility of interseption. The way this tech is explained it violates the current understanding of the laws of physics but oh well.

Directed laser communications are virtually impossible to intersept. Signals being sent in the proximity of Yamatai wouldn't be to hard to intersept either however communications between starships in space would be more difficult because you would need a reciever somewhere in proximity to the two starships.

Aside from that taping Star Army communications is useless without computers a few levels above what the Star Army is using right now. Quantum encryption in a nutshell means that if you view the transmission the key sent along with it is altered unless you have the exact right key combination to view the signal. Again, with all current computer systems operated by the Stararmy and whoever else no system would be capable of predicting such a key on the first try. If you look in on their communications they will know.

As for the weakest part of the encryption being the crew themselves, remember that they are under the watchful eye of the computer system. It would prevent them from doing something stupid if the situation warented it. They do not, however, protect against accidental raping of the computer system and loosing bets for which you must put on makeup and a dress. Belive me.

 

[sada sakue]

While I agree (mostly) with what you say, you have to keep in mind that no system is infallible. Even with quantum encryption, if someone wants to break the code, they will. It could take them days, months, years, but they will, at some point, break it.

But let's get back on topic, this is about intercepting stuff and not knowing what they say.

Like you said, laser transmissions are hard to intercept (if not impossible) without breaking the transmission. I don't know about sub-space transmission or Neko-like telepathy, since i don't know how they works, but pretty much anything else (electromagnetic signals) would be easily intercepted by a small scout ship, or a probe, with the proper equipment.

 

[Rob]

Like you said, laser transmissions are hard to intercept (if not impossible) without breaking the transmission

Nah! You can use normal capture with retransmitters, or lenses that only take a tiny portion of the laser image.

 

[Zack]

if someone wants to break the code, they will. It could take them days, months, years, but they will, at some point, break it.

This is not true. There is an insanely small chance that they will guess the exact right quantum key to use but it is not worth mentioning. The key can be changed for each transmission (and is) so without knowing what key to use ahead of time listening in on the transmission is pointless because there is no code to break, you either have the right key or not.


And sure, you could know what they have to say in the transmission but the star army would know that you know.

Nah! You can use normal capture with retransmitters, or lenses that only take a tiny portion of the laser image.

This is also not true. If you capture and retransmit you will run into the problems with quantum encryption. Because you have observed the message without the proper key the original reciever of the message will know that someone has spyed on them because the key will be altered.

Using a half mirror to split the beam is a possible method of intersepting the communication but the signal strength will be halfed and the intended reciever will know something is up.




Intersepting and decoding a secret message needs to be done quickly and without the other party knowing for it to be of any real use and I don't think any current ships in the Yamatai or otherwise fleet have that capability. (Assuming you don't have the right keys and your target is the average yamatai warship)


Edit: telepathy is considered to be broadcast like radio.

 

[Vesper]

Quantum cryptography as it exists now relies on the orientation of the transmitting photon (horizontal, vertical, or at a 45* diagonal). The transmitter randomly chooses the filter at there end for the initial transmission. The receiver also randomly chooses what filter they will use. In accordance with the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the receiver can only choose one filter to observe each photon. Once they have received the transmission the receiver transmits over a public channel which filters they used, but not which ones detected a photon (bit). The transmitter then tells the receiver which filters where correct, and these specific filters form the basis for the encryption key that will be used for the remainder of the transmission.

This type of encryption is so hard to break because it is governed by the uncertainty principle. This means that a third party observer will invariably change the data (by simple probability, they will use at least 1 wrong filter, thus changing the message), which can be detected. However, the clincher as quantum cryptography works now is to use a laser firing only a single photon every few pulses. This is, unfourtunatly, only a probability and the pulse may very well contain several photons, which opens the possibility for an observer to "stealâ€

 

[Rei]

That's essentially what I would have said without resorting to math. So even if he tried laser, it would still be travelling at the speed of light. Making it rather useless for his purpose, certainly if he can't securely transmit where to be positioned to recieve the transmission some years and years later. :shock:

 

[Zakalwe]

Unless he uses sub-space communications, but putting a laser beam through a sub space effect.

That would get it there.