October 2000 - cypherpunks-legacy

EZ-Pass discovers risk of sending URLs instead of actual text
by danny burstein 24 Oct '00

24 Oct '00

In a story datelined 24-Oct-2000, and headlined: New Jersey shuts down E-ZPass statement site after security breached The Associated Press reported on a problem with privacy and security on the New Jersey EZPASS website where people can review their usage. (EZPass is a radio transponder placed in your motor vehicle which is "read" at toll booths, enabling you to zip through without having to stop and hand over cash. Naturally it keeps records of when and where you were for billing purposes... Which is another RISK all together) Per the story: TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- A security breach has forced New Jersey officials to temporarily shut down a service that allows E-ZPass users to get monthly statements via e-mail. The story contains claims and counter-claims, some of which are mutually exclusive, but then has the following paragraph: Reagoso said Monday that it wasn't hard to break into the system. He discovered that the electronic statements aren't sent directly to drivers via e-mail, but rather drivers are provided with a link to access their accounts. Presumably the link for, say, October would have been something like www.[the number of your account].200010.[somelocation] and all you'd have to do is replace your own account number with the person's you were looking for. Quoting one more paragraph from the story: "It's something that an eighth-grader who designs his own Web page at home is capable of doing," Reagoso said. "It took four accidental keystrokes to display anybody's account." I just checked the EZPass website (www.ezpass.com) and they don't have any comments posted... [It turns out Mr. Reagoso has his own website: http://www.reagoso.com in which he says a bit more. DB]

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CDR: Wired News tech scorecard for U.S. House of Representatives
by Declan McCullagh 24 Oct '00

24 Oct '00

At Wired News, we've compiled a list of the technology voting records of each member of the U.S. House of Representatives. That meant picking seven tech bills and grading all 435 legislators -- at least the ones who showed up those days -- on their floor votes. If they chose to take a hands-off approach, they got a "1", while regulatory votes got a "0." (If you disagree with us, flip the scale around.) Here's the list sorted by last name (scoll down to find your legislator): http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,39637,00.html Sorted by score, with the two California reps with 100 percent at the top: http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,39636,00.html And a summary of the results, with some methodology: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,39625,00.html Some interesting results: Purported privacy advocates like Democrat Ed Markey didn't score well, getting a 33% of 100%, in part because of his opposition to financial privacy legislation. Republican Bob Goodlatte, Internet caucus co-chair, got just 43% because of his support for speech and gambling restrictions. -Declan The floor votes scored: HR2031: A vote to restrict online sales of alcohol. (No is 1) HR3615: A vote to create a new federal agency to spend $1.25 billion on rural TV service. (No is 1) HR3709: A vote to extend a temporary federal ban on Internet taxes. (Yes is 1) HR3125: A vote to prohibit Internet gambling. (No is 1) HR1501: A vote on an amendment to restrict the sale of violent material such as videogames to anyone under the age of 18. (No is 1) HR10: A vote on an amendment to protect financial privacy by restricting government monitoring of bank accounts. (Yes is 1) HR1714: A vote to allow the use of electronic signatures. (Yes is 1)

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CDR: Zero-Knowledge Open-Sources Linux Client
by anonymous＠openpgp.net 24 Oct '00

24 Oct '00

from the privacy-for-all dept. jailbreakist writes "Zero-Knowledge Systems, a Montreal based privacy software company, has released the source code to their Linux client. The software in question provides anonymous web browsing, pseudonymous email, form filling, cookie management and more. You can get the source at opensource.zeroknowledge.com. The source is available under the MPL, and our clientshim and Yarrow (random number generation) implementations are under GPL."

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CDR: New ID system keeps tabs on kids
by Secret Squirrel 24 Oct '00

24 Oct '00

"Mooooo" say air passengers. "Baaaaa" say students. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 19:42:05 -0400 Newsgroups: alt.privacy Subject: New ID system keeps tabs on kids Students have their ID Cards scanned at the start of the school day at Bensalem High School By Denise Clay SPECIAL TO THE PREMIERE dclay(a)calkinsnewspapers.com Getting into Bensalem High School now requires identification, but not any card will do. Students have begun using photo identification cards connected to the school's new Comprehensive Attendance Administration and Security System. The cards have the student's name and other information encoded n them. A computerized reader scans them. The systen is designed to help school officials monitor students' comings and goings. In the future, the electronic screens at the ID stations will show if a student has been suspended and shouldn't be in school. The monitors will also sing "Happy Birthday" to a student on the appropriate day. Six identification stations are located at the front entrance of the school, said Princial Elliott Lewis. One station is staffed with a hall monitor all day. Students have been adjusting to the Windows 95-based system and the additional responsibilities connected to it, officials say. "The kids have been responding well," said Natalie Knable, assistant principal. "They've been carrying their IDs." Those who forget are given a temporary pass after signing in at the ID station.

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CDR: Killing Judges
by John Young 24 Oct '00

24 Oct '00

What has happened lately in the killing judges world? There was a spate of cases and a couple of jokers got vised, but any recently? I mean in the US, not elsewhere it's acceptable culling. Is Jeff still here hoping for another gold star, is Tim still being bullseyed for "he's gone too far, make him an example." Crypto-assassin CJ's still emitting judicial mock, with filthy, disgusting heavals from Three Rivers, TX. Course, the flung bung wads could be Jeff's plying your honor.

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CDR: Re: Risk and insurance
by Bill Stewart 24 Oct '00

24 Oct '00

Archives are on www.inet-one.com At 02:50 PM 10/23/00 +0300, Sampo A Syreeni wrote: >On Sun, 22 Oct 2000, Tim May wrote: > >>The book I recommended a week or two ago, Judea Pearl's "Causality," >>is much more advanced in its mathematics. (But the math is important >>if one is actually trying to construct the causality diagrams Pearl >>is talking about.) > >Would it be too much to ask you to recant the main point made? It sounds >pretty interesting... > >Sampo Syreeni <decoy(a)iki.fi>, aka decoy, student/math/Helsinki university > > > > Thanks! Bill Bill Stewart, bill.stewart(a)pobox.com PGP Fingerprint D454 E202 CBC8 40BF 3C85 B884 0ABE 4639

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CDR: Illicit words
by Bruce J.A. Nourish 24 Oct '00

24 Oct '00

I read somewhere that the FBI/NSA/some other Big Bro. organisation has a list of words that they check your email against, and if they find any, they have someone read your mail. Anyone know what they are? TIA & HAND -- Bruce J.A. Nourish (keys - see header) <kode187(a)galadriel.kode187.net>

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CDR: Declan My Lai
by John Young 24 Oct '00

24 Oct '00

Declan, Pounding out the hundreds of deathless reports you've done did you dream it would be the Gore My Lai that got you onto the NYTimes opinion page today?

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CDR: 645,835 Search Engines/Resubmission Every Month.
by 645,101 Search Engines. 24 Oct '00

24 Oct '00

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CDR: QuickBooks format
by Svetoslav Ivanov 24 Oct '00

24 Oct '00

Hello, I read an e-mail from you for QuikBooks data format. Can you send me anything, if you have received in this way? Thanks! Svetoslav Ivanov, Varna, Bulgaria

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