(security) Where magic lives: Analysis of HSBC Vulnerability

http://da.vidnicholson.com/2006/08/analysis-of-hsbc-vulnerability.html

Very nice article... simple, easy to read and understand.

Most crypt-analyses is very mathematical in nature, and I can hardly
understand the individual words in it, let alone whole sentences :-(

As a result, I've always had trouble explaining to people how proper
analysis can break a system, because to the untrained mind, even XOR
would seem unbreakable!

For me, therefore, the real value of this article is that I can probably
use it to give ordinary people exactly such an insight.