Sections 14.1 & 14.2; Due November 17

Difficult: I do not entirely understand the use of the hash function in the zero knowledge protocol. Why is it beneficial to use a hash function here when Peggy will still have to give full numbers for her answers? How would a chip be made unreadable? Wouldn't that mean that the machine that Peggy puts the card in would not be able to read the chip either?

Reflective: More importantly, what is to prevent Eve from using the algorithm with the $5 wrench described on the test to find Peggy's numbers? Seriously though, I think I see the use of these protocols. Since not even Victor will know the answers that Peggy uses (his computer throws them away) he cannot give away that information. It seems like it would be easy to adapt one of these protocols using El Gamal also, which might be easier to compute than RSA types like they used.