[e-lang] Side Channels (was: E-on-Common-Lisp now available)

[Mark Miller]

David Wagner wrote:
  > As you've written elsewhere, it may be possible to at least partially
> deal with memory allocation failures, by terminating the entire vat when
> the first memory allocation failure occurs.

Yes, but even this has a problem I find very hard to think about. If Bob does 
an allocation that would succeed in the f(c1,c1) universe, but which would 
fail from out of memory in the f(c1,c2) universe, then if he survives this 
experiment, he knows he's in the f(c1,c1) universe. This less-than-a-bit of 
non-overt information is especially frightening, because Bob can obtain it 
even without a source of non-determinism.

-- 
Text by me above is hereby placed in the public domain

     Cheers,
     --MarkM