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tarpitttoday at 5:06 PM0 repliesview on HN

The wrench attack is still far weaker than a push-button attack.

In the wrench attack you are aware that you have been attacked, and you're aware of what data the attacker gains.

Additionally there are schemes like deniable encryption which can mitigate the outcomes of such an attack or serve as a red herring.

Furthermore it's dependent on physical intimidation which is expensive to scale and can be met with your own physical intimidation. In order for a wrench attack to scale to an entire society you have to send the gestapo to everyone's house whereas push-button attacks scale by default unbenownst to the victims and enable more nefarious systems to be built on top of them. In the USA this would mean interrogating some well armed citizens.

Lastly, you aren't forced to give up the key by any means. They can torture you to death and there is nothing they can do if you don't want to give up the key. There are some secrets in the game of love and war that are worth taking to - it's why spies are equipped with cyanide pills.