November 2000 - cypherpunks-legacy

Intercepting e-mail eyed by Ottawa
by M Taylor 09 Nov '00

09 Nov '00

Intercepting e-mail eyed by Ottawa Privacy issue: Spy agency weighs secrecy against cyber attacks <http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20001016/430467.html> National Post, October 16, 2000, Jim Bronskill BEGIN QUOTE Federal officials are wrestling with the privacy implications of intercepting e-mail messages during attempts to zero in on computer viruses. A newly declassified report by Canada's electronic spy agency indicates the issue is among the thorny legal questions that need to be clarified before going ahead with a planned national centre to protect vital information networks. The Communications Security Establishment report, obtained under the Access to Information Act, stresses the need for policy guidance to help the proposed information protection co-ordination centre investigate viruses and cyber attacks. "The interception of e-mail messages may be required when tracking down viruses since most viruses are distributed through the e-mail system," says the CSE report, prepared in April. "This may be seen as an invasion of privacy but in some cases it may be necessary in order to ensure network security." It notes that existing case law deals with similar scenarios but the results are "still subject to interpretation." ... END QUOTE rest of text: <http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20001016/430467.html> It is not very clear what the CSE et all have in mind, perhaps a CALEA[1] like wiretapping party house or Carnivore [2]. -M Taylor [1] Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (U.S. Gov't) <http://www.eff.org/pub/Privacy/CALEA/> [2] http://www.epic.org/privacy/carnivore/ --- end forwarded text -- "...as we transfer our whole being to the data bank, privacy will become a ghost or echo of its former self and what remains of community will disappear"...Marshal McLuhan -- Robert Guerra <rguerra(a)yahoo.com>, Fax: +1(303) 484-0302 WWW Page <http://pgp.greatvideo.com>, ICQ # 10266626 PGPKeys <http://pgp.greatvideo.com/keys/rguerra/>

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CDR: The Butterfly Effect
by Tim May 09 Nov '00

09 Nov '00

Devil's Dictionary, 2005 edition: "Butterfly Effect: Wherein the use of a "butterfly ballot" having candidates listed on either side of a central column was claimed to have confused some elderly Jewish voters in Palm County, Florida and thus was used by lawyers as an excuse to take full control of the American election process." --Tim May -- ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, ComSec 3DES: 831-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, "Cyphernomicon" | black markets, collapse of governments.

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CDR: Re: A successful lawsuit means Gore wins!
by George＠Orwellian.Org 09 Nov '00

09 Nov '00

Declan, King of the Wired, wrote: # TO VOTE for a candidate whose name is printed on the ballot, # mark a cross (X) in the blank space at the RIGHT of the name # of the candidate for whom you desire to vote. To vote for a # candidate whose name is not printed on the ballot, write the # candidate's name in the blank space provided for that purpose. Yep: that was clear. Declan, King of the Wired, wrote: # (As a followup, I should say I see "RIGHT" in the sample ballot, You're so cute! C'mere...coootchi-coootchie-coo!!!

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CDR: RE: Close Elections and Causality
by Ernest Hua 09 Nov '00

09 Nov '00

Thanks Tim. (First, I genuinely appreciate the specificity. Now we can discuss just where we disagree.) Given your points, one would have to argue that the proper election would have to be extremely simultaneous (e.g. everyone votes within 1 hour or whatever will most likely beat any realistic attempt to predict voter results before the vote is actually finished). I can see your point. However, it ain't gonna happen precisely because people have normal life concerns that truly are 24x7 and simply cannot work around them. (e.g. kids, certain kinds of jobs, etc ...). A reasonable level of flexibility is required. "Reasonable" appears to mean opening polls for most of the day, but I would hate to have some faceless fed tell me what reasonable is. Tax day is another example. Shit. Why should the Post Office do anything extra special for you if you don't get your forms filed in time? Why should they set up special lines and special times on the night of April 15? Because it's a compromise. It's pragmatic. The goal is to get people to file and to file on time. Same thing here. The goal is to give people a chance to vote. Otherwise, national elections should have national rules, according to your reasoning. States should not be allowed to set up their own mechanisms to vote on national elections. But in fact, the states ARE granted such flexibility because that's the tradition. It does not fit yours or someone else's absolute ideals, but then it's such a huge process and who knows what level of flexibility each state or local region needs. So on the issue of extending hours: If each district, county, township, neighborhood should decide to open the polls LONGER, I can't see a problem with that. If they close it earlier, it's probably not a problem either unless someone felt they did not have a chance to get to the polls. Then someone will have to decide whether that person had a fair chance to vote. But you don't want some no-name federal government bureaucrat deciding what constitutes a fair and reasonable chance to vote in your circumstances, right? Yes, I know, you can probably name all sorts of extreme and clearly abusive behavior that this would allow. But surprisingly, most people do not abuse the system. Most people don't if it is too inconvenient to be a pain-in-the-ass. On the issue of re-voting: The causality and the hinge issues are irrelevant if ANY state, county, district, whatever can go to a judge and argue (not demand arbitrarily) for re-vote. It's exactly YOUR argument: Just because county X is demanding a re-vote does not suddenly make that county the hinge vote. They obviously do not know or care if county Y also demand a re-vote. Same flaw. Because every area of the country have the same right (as Palm Beach) to demand a re-vote. But "reasonableness" and "compromise" will usually demand some upper bound on how much of this can occur to correct for any problems that arise. My personal view is that it is obvious that the election is close, period. Therefore, any particular place where it's winner-take-all, a reasonable request to re-vote should be granted. Lots of places here and abroad have the concept of run-off elections for precisely the same reasons: Let's see what the voters really want. Ern -----Original Message----- From: Tim May [mailto:tcmay@got.net] Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2000 9:02 AM To: cypherpunks(a)algebra.com Subject: Close Elections and Causality [ Long educational rant about causation and how some people are not clued in. ]

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CDR: A very brief politcal rant
by brflgnk＠cotse.com 09 Nov '00

09 Nov '00

If the citizens of Missouri chose to elect a deceased person as Senator, I think that's exactly what they should get. Leave the seat empty for two years.

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CDR: Stars' bank details revealed on Internet
by R. A. Hettinga 09 Nov '00

09 Nov '00

So, boys and girls, which do you think is safer, bearer cash and negotiable securities stored anonymously all over the net in m-of-n hashes, or in a single bank account -- regardless of jurisdiction, for the sake of argument -- with web access? See? I knew you could... Cheers, RAH --------- CNN Stars' bank details revealed on Internet Roger Moore, a victim of Internet error November 9, 2000 Web posted at: 7:22 AM EST (1222 GMT) ZURICH, Switzerland -- The bank details of several show business stars, including former James Bond actor Roger Moore, were posted on the public Internet for a week as a result of an error by a Swiss bank. A technical glitch revealed the stars' secret bank account numbers, private addresses and money transfers on a Credit Suisse Group Web site, the bank acknowledged on Thursday. That meant that Internet users could get a rare glimpse into account details of such stars as Moore, Swiss entertainer DJ Bobo and German pop star Udo Juergens. The Swiss Blick newspaper said in a front-page story that several stars were affected by the inadvertent publication of details of 675 money transfers, but did not say exactly how many. Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-largest bank, confirmed the report and said it had shut down a test Web site where the details appeared. 'First-class scandal' "We are investigating how exactly that could have happened and have closed down the page," CS spokesman Georg Soentgerath told CNN.com. "A third person put data in there which should never have gone in there. Unfortunately it could lead to a loss of confidence in the bank." The problem cropped up when a Swiss agency that coordinates royalty payments sent the confidential data to Credit Suisse as a test of its transfer system. But the numbers inexplicably appeared on the bank's Internet banking Web site, Direct.net. "This is a first-class scandal," Juergens told Blick. "How can I feel secure at such an institution?" "I am mad as hell. I am going to close my two accounts at CS," Swiss singer Polo Hofer was quoted as saying. Reuters contributed to this report. -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah(a)ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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CDR: Re: A successful lawsuit means Gore wins!
by George＠Orwellian.Org 09 Nov '00

09 Nov '00

And the lawsuit has been filed. http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB973731700780133282.htm # # November 9, 2000 # # Lawsuit to Recover Lost Gore Votes Overshadows the Recount in # Florida # # By GLENN R. SIMPSON, JACKIE CALMES and CHAD TERHUNE Staff # Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL # # Overshadowing a state ballot recount in the tightest presidential # election in memory, Democrats filed suit to help Al Gore recover # thousands of votes he may have lost because of a confusing ballot # in Palm Beach County. # # Democratic State Sen. Ron Klein and lawyer Jeffrey Liggio, # official observers in the Palm Beach County recount, said county # officials disqualified 19,120 presidential votes here on Tuesday # because voters selected more than one candidate. That is about # 4.14% of total votes cast in the county for president, an # unusually high figure, says Mr. Klein. # # The figures were confirmed by Carol Roberts, a county commissioner # and a member of the Palm Beach County canvassing board. She added # in an interview that ballots were rejected in the Florida Senate # contest at a far lower rate -- 0.82%. # # Democrats said they believe most of the disqualified votes were # cast for Al Gore and Pat Buchanan by confused voters who intended # to pick Mr. Gore, but inadvertently selected both men because # of the proximity of their names on the paper ballot. If they # are correct, the problem may have cost Mr. Gore a clear margin # of victory here statewide and could boost calls to overturn the # Florida results, which favored George W. Bush by less than 2,000 # votes. # # Late Wednesday, a suit was filed in Palm Beach County circuit # court by three local Democrats to force a new vote in the county # because of the allegedly confusing ballots. # # "It's pretty clear this ballot defect has thwarted the will of # the people in that county in an amount that would appear to be # in excess of the current margin between Bush and Gore statewide # -- well in excess," said Democratic ballot lawyer Chris Sautter, # an adviser to the Gore campaign who isn't involved in the suit. # # The layout of the ballot was intended to make it easier for # seniors to read. "Obviously, it didn't work that way," said Mr. # Klein. # # Democrats are exploring the possibility that the ballot design # violates state standards. An official in the governor's office # disputed the idea, saying the standards only apply to ballots # counted manually. # # Reeve Bright, a lawyer for the Republican Party of Palm Beach # County, conceded the 19,000 disqualified votes occurred. But # that doesn't mean the tossed-out votes were all for Gore, he # stressed. He added that he didn't know whether the total was # an unusually high one. # # "They're just blowing smoke," he said of Democrats' concerns. # "Are they trying to say the voters are that incompetent, that # they can't read and follow directions?" # # Complaints of ballot confusion and the lawsuit came as state # officials were outlining the process by which all 67 Florida # counties would recount the ballots cast Tuesday and help determine # which candidate wins the state's 25 electoral votes. As of # Wednesday morning, George W. Bush led by about 1,800 votes of # the nearly six million cast. # # "What happens here will determine the next presidency of the # United States," said Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth. # # Appearing with Mr. Butterworth was Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the # Republican candidate's brother. To avoid the appearance of a # conflict of interest, Jeb Bush said he won't serve on the # three-member state canvassing board that will meet to certify # final results after Florida counties complete their recount. # # State officials had set 5 p.m. Thursday as the deadline for the # recount, but the governor suggested a further wrinkle: An # estimated 3,000 ballots still arriving from Florida military # personnel abroad could further delay the outcome by as many as # 10 days. # # Florida's electoral votes would give either Mr. Bush or Mr. Gore # the election. Without Florida, Mr. Gore leads narrowly in the # national popular vote, and he carried enough states to compile # 260 electoral votes -- 10 shy of the 270 needed for an Electoral # College majority. Mr. Bush has 246 electoral votes. Besides # Florida, Oregon was also still too close to call Wednesday because # of delays in counting ballots in what was the state's first # mail-in presidential election. But Oregon's seven electoral votes # aren't enough to give either man the majority. # # Meanwhile, the two campaigns each dispatched a former U.S. # secretary of state -- Warren Christopher for Mr. Gore, and James # Baker for Mr. Bush -- to monitor events here. # # Locally, Florida's county officials were largely on their own # to figure out how to recount the votes in their areas. Many # expected the recount to take only a few hours, but scheduling # conflicts with their canvassing boards were causing delays. # # "Most of us were in at 5:30 a.m. and went home after midnight. # And now we're recreating yesterday. It will be a long night," # Marilyn Gerkin, supervisor of elections in Sarasota County, said. # # Democrat Kurt Browning, a Pasco County elections supervisor, # said a recount was almost certain to show differences from the # original count across the state, in part because of "hanging # chads." Those are bits of paper that sometimes cling to the punch # cards used in most of Florida's larger counties, filling in the # punch hole and effectively invalidating the voter's choice if # counted by machine. When counted by hand, it is easier to # distinguish the voter's selection and validate the ballot. # # In Orange County in Central Florida, Elections Supervisor Bill # Cowles was going through a few hundred rejected ballots by hand # with his canvassing board. The ballot-counting machines had thrown # out those ballots Tuesday because of stray pen marks or voters # choosing two candidates in the same race. They hadn't been counted # at all until Wednesday, so Mr. Gore and Mr. Bush stood to gain # a few votes. # # Once conducted, the ballot recounts will be submitted to the # state canvassing board, which, besides Florida Gov. Bush, includes # Secretary of State Katherine Harris and Division of Elections # Chief Clay Roberts. The secretary of state's office will name # a replacement for Gov. Bush. # # Any challenge of the results would likely require legal action, # for which both sides were preparing. Florida Democrats announced # a "voter fraud hotline" to collect complaints that could form # the basis of a challenge. # # Regarding the Palm Beach County lawsuit, local-elections # supervisor Theresa LePore said in a statement that her office # has an "unblemished record of public trust." We remain committed # to protecting this reputation," the statement continued. She # estimated the recount in Palm Beach County would take about six # hours after starting Wednesday afternoon. # # Others contend the ballot flap was nonsense. "This is a # manufactured controversy," says Rep. Mark Foley (R., Fla.), the # local congressman. Mr. Buchanan received 3,407 votes in Palm # Beach County yesterday and 8,788 votes there in the 1996 GOP # primary. So, Mr. Foley reasons, Tuesday's results aren't that # "out of whack." # # The problems in Palm Beach County echo the last statewide ballot # controversy in Florida, when Connie Mack beat Buddy MacKay for # a U.S. Senate seat in 1988. The design of the Palm Beach County # ballot was a major problem in that race as well. A recount did # not change the outcome, and though Democrats complained, they # did not take legal action. # # South Florida had a recent bout with voter fraud that triggered # tougher state laws in 1998 on voting by absentee ballot. # Investigations found rampant absentee-ballot fraud in the 1997 # Miami mayoral race, including vote-brokering and the buying and # selling of votes, and a court ordered a new election. The U.S. # Justice Department later rejected the state reforms, saying they # could discriminate against a high number of minority voters who # rely on absentee voting because of a lack of transportation or # the ability to get time off from work.

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CDR: Re: Phil Zimmerman Profiled
by Ulf Möller 09 Nov '00

09 Nov '00

> these days. However, he sees his contribution as critical, believing > that "encryption software architectural decisions must be made by > knowledgeable cryptographers, not software engineers." He has very > firm opinions, for example, about Gnu Privacy Guard (GnuPG), an open > source competitor to PGP. There's no doubt in Zimmermann's mind that > GnuPG suffers for being managed by programmers. He offers the Blowfish > encryption method as an example: "I would never, ever allow Blowfish > to be implemented in PGP, because it's not as good a design as > Twofish; Twofish is superior. PGP 7 implements Two fish. Yet we see > GnuPG implemented Blowfish." > Even the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) makes cryptographic > mistakes, he says. Zimmermann asserts, "I would never allow El-Gamal > signatures to be put in PGP. I don't know how that got in" RFC 2440, > which defines the OpenPGP standard. It is the "knowledgeable cryptographer" Zimmermann who is responsible for the broken DSA signatures in PGP. And Additinal Decryption Keys are okay, but Blowfish is an inacceptable security risk? What a moron.

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CDR: Recommended csmonitor.com article
by foo＠bar.net 09 Nov '00

09 Nov '00

------------------------------------------------------------------------- foo(a)bar.net has recommended this article from The Christian Science Monitor's electronic edition. One for Tim May ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click here to email this story to a friend: http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/send-story?2000/10/31/text/p15s1.txt Click here to read this story online: http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/10/31/fp15s1-csm.shtml Headline: A college course turns to the streets for real-life lessons Byline: Date: 10/31/2000 Matthew is not what you'd consider a typical expert enlisted to share his experience with college students. He hasn't earned a degree. He doesn't have an office - or even a phone. But on a recent warm October day, a group of college students are spellbound as Matthew shares his first-hand expertise in a problem they witness every day: homelessness. Holding court in the Boston subway as trains screech through the dark, Matthew educates his audience - members of an unusual class on homelessness and poverty from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst - about everything from finding food to breaking through locked doors in search of a warm place to sleep. All it takes, he intones, is one bad winter night. "I'm freezing, there's nowhere to go," he says of his thought process. "You want to get in, you need to get in." The course's goal is an understanding of homelessness that transcends classroom lectures and policy discussions. Reflective of efforts at colleges around the country to enhance in-class study with hands-on experience, the class combines service learning with lectures. Reading and writing assignments cover political, economic, and historical aspects of poverty (see story, below). Students also hand out food and clothing. Through the wide-ranging approach, participants - whose majors range from engineering to sociology - hope not only to gain a clearer sense of the world beyond their dorm rooms, but also to probe for solutions to a seemingly intractable problem. Indeed, more than 700,000 people in America were homeless on any given night in 1999, and up to 2 million people during the year, according to National Coalition for the Homeless. Many are hampered by a lack of affordable rents and buildings that accommodate group living. Sandwiches and socks On this particular day, the U-Mass group joins students from Dartmouth College, Boston University, and other schools where volunteers work with an outreach program called City Reach. The students organize a clothing giveaway at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral. Then they fill their backpacks with sandwiches and socks and head out on the streets in small teams. As they pass park benches, narrow alleys, and expansive fields, they hear a common message from the former truck drivers, teachers, and war veterans who make up the homeless community: We never thought it would happen to us. Matthew, who has lived on the street for three years since losing his job, tells students that one night a few years ago, he broke into a train station and slept on a marble bench. He awoke to commuters reading newspapers. "I prayed I hadn't been snoring," he says with a chuckle. But, he adds, "people walked right past me. It's like a whole other world..., another speed." A key element in this kind of a class is careful planning and focus to avoid seeming voyeuristic, says Meg Campbell, a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. "It can sharpen and form life directions," she says. "You can't become an auto mechanic without practicing on the car. It requires added work from the teacher..., a great deal of respect and planning." Firsthand insights Students agree, pointing to the advantages of gaining firsthand insights. "Both [of us] are students and teachers," says Eric Chapdelaine, a senior and biochemistry major at U-Mass. "I learned more in the one class [in which a homeless man] came and talked to us than I learned in all my four years. You meet these people on the streets and you realize that without parents or a support system you could easily become homeless." On the walk, a few students quietly stand over a man sleeping on a park bench in Boston Common. One places food and juice nearby. As they continue, Matthew describes the struggles of not having a roof to sleep under. He points to a tree where one homeless friend froze to death. He recalls retreats to spacious bathrooms in the John Hancock building to get some "peace and quiet." He also tells of sleeping in the winter over the heating grates outside the library. These personal stories are what students say they will remember most from the weekend. Yet some at first feel anxiety about the interactions, says their teacher, the Rev. Chris Carlisle. But he says they tend to walk away feeling "empowered to do something about it." The class "helps illuminate commonalities in a socioeconomic system that emphasizes differences." Bill, who has lived in a shelter for more than a year, explains that stereotyping the homeless is a common mistake. Just short of earning a PhD, he used to teach music in public schools. But he lost his home when he suffered from depression. "If someone tells you a homeless person is a bum with a dirty raincoat, a hat without a brim, and oily pants on, then what are you gonna say to them?" he asks the students. "It's not the case," students respond in unison. He's currently involved in work-placement programs and hopes to find a home soon. Educating students keeps him focused, he says, and he hopes they will work toward solutions. Some possibilities include strengthening job programs, building more affordable housing, and helping low-income people improve their credit, everyone agrees. Many homeless - who are typically single, minority males - have disabilities or addictions that keep them from working. Though some people without homes say they are unmotivated, a large number possess a drive to succeed but lack resources or education, adds Don, a war veteran who lives in a shelter. Don just started a merchandising job at Filene's Basement and hopes to have a place of his own soon. "I'm here because I didn't want to be sitting up there watching TV with all the other men and not doing anything," he says. As they leave, students discuss other solutions, which include putting decisionmakers in closer touch with the problems and creating programs that encourage changes in behavior. Matthew, for one, advocates as a temporary solution that churches open their doors to the homeless at night. But most important, students say they walk away with a newfound respect for homeless people. "I was just amazed at how active some of them are.... I don't know what they're not capable of," says Carl Gieringer, who traveled to Boston with his church group at Dartmouth. Jenna Sippel, a sophomore at U Mass, agrees. "It's totally humbling. These people have so much faith.... It makes me want to be like them." E-mail cooks(a)csps.com (c) Copyright 2000 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved. Click here to email this story to a friend: http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/send-story?2000/10/31/text/p15s1.txt The Christian Science Monitor-- an independent daily newspaper providing context and clarity on national and international news, peoples and cultures, and social trends. Online at http://www.csmonitor.com Click here to order a free sample copy of the print edition of the Monitor: http://www.csmonitor.com/advertising/order_page.html

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BSA deploys imaginary pirate software detector vans
by Fearghas McKay 09 Nov '00

09 Nov '00

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/14562.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BSA deploys imaginary pirate software detector vans By: Kieren McCarthy Posted: 08/11/2000 at 10:57 GMT The Business Software Alliance aka The Pirate Busters is growing so frustrated in its hopeless efforts to cut down on software piracy that it has decided propaganda and misinformation is the way forward. Visitors to Glasgow Central Station yesterday were surprised to be confronted by a Ford Transit van with a small radar and rusty Sky satellite dish mounted on top. What was this apparition? Why, the BSA's latest weapon in the war against software-stealing scum. A wise reader asked one of the "consultants" what exactly the dishes were able to do and was informed they could detect PCs running illegal software. When pushed a little further, she admitted the van was "just a dummy" but the BSA still had a fleet of the real things rushing around Scotland detecting and nabbing unsuspecting criminals. Expressing incredulity, things turned nasty and our loyal reader was threatened. He'd "better watch out" because the BSA with its new super software-finding equipment will "get him easily". He quickly ran off and slid into the shadows before he was photographed and his face wired to Interpol and the CIA. Can you believe this? This has to be one of the most insane things we've heard in years. The BSA needs to take a valium and lay down for a bit. ® Related Stories BSA offers £10K bounty to catch software thieves --- end forwarded text -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah(a)ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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