Bruce Schneier is amused.

I threw a foam brick at my TV set this past Monday evening during 24, at the mention of a backdoor designed into the Blowfish cipher. I'm a long-time fan of the show, but not for its steadfast attention to technical details. The show's creators seem to believe that all you need in order to crack any encryption algorithm is an "open socket" and a high enough security clearance.

Bruce Schneier, the designer of the Blowfish algorithm, was gracious in mentioning the episode on his security blog, even providing an excerpt from the show's transcript.

In a response to a comment, Bruce had this to say:

I've never seen the show, and don't really care to. As to how it feels: it feels surreal. I'm not proud to be mentioned, angry they claimed I put a back door in, annoyed they get the details wrong. If anything, I am amused by the whole situation. It's, well, it's surreal.

I won't be surprised if next season's villain on 24 has a manly beard, twin automatic machine pistols, and the uncanny ability to decrypt a box of Alpha-Bits.

Photo courtesy of Bruce Schneier Facts.