#177: Alice and Bob explain

[Eve stands in the frame, talking to the reader.]

Eve: I’m sure you’ve heard all about this sordid affair in those gossipy cryptographic protocol specs with those busybodies Schneier and Rivest, always taking Alice’s side, always labeling me the attacker.

Eve: Yes, it’s true. I broke Bob’s private key and extracted the text of her messages. But does anyone realize how much it hurt?

Eve: He said it was nothing, but everything from the public-key authenticated signatures on the files to the lipstick heart smeared on the disk screamed “Alice.”

Eve: I didn’t want to believe. Of course on some level I realized it was a known-plaintext attack. But I couldn’t admit it until I saw it for myself.

[Eve places her hands on her hips.]

Eve: So before you so quickly label me a third party to the communication, just remember: I loved him first. We had something and she tore it away. She’s the attacker, not me. Not Eve.