HI

> If it has to interface with the computer IT IS HACKABLE. If I'm to assume

that paladium usage will work because of private/public key pairs that only
the application and smartcard understand, then might I remind you that the
Application or OS has to store the other key somewhere. Also, there are
methods of intercepting electronic transmissions, and just debugging memory
in general.

No.
Paladium uses public keys on the hardware layer. No programm can do anything
against it (if it is bug-less implemented of course).
And on hardware layer it is possible to build atomic "black boxes" that
cannot be opened without destroying them and you cannot see whats going on
inside without opening.

You can get some information anyway.
We have a professor here at our university who can give some information
about **WHEN** the multiplier within a smart card that uses prime
multiplication is activated [using some method to very sensibly monitoring
its power requirements - multipliers need more power than adders in this
special card]. But you cannot get the values of these primes - only some raw
estimation of their size.

Regards,
Steffen