February 2001 - cypherpunks-legacy

Slashdot | Michigan May Outlaw Anonymity Online
by Jim Choate 13 Feb '01

13 Feb '01

http://slashdot.org/yro/01/02/11/1829225.shtml -- ____________________________________________________________________ Before a larger group can see the virtue of an idea, a smaller group must first understand it. "Stranger Suns" George Zebrowski The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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Crypto McCarthyism ...thoughts, gentlemen?
by Aimee Farr 13 Feb '01

13 Feb '01

Gentlemen[*]: Looking for a modern revisitation of this 1996 Cyber McCarthyism paper (snips below). Something with an academic & empirical focus. Eh, I'm not holding my breath....so, I would equally value your thoughts on the following, in light of all the "cryptoboogeymen" popping out of closets into guv'mint press releases and hearings lately: o What do you think about [1-2]? o Contemporary parallels? (use of crypto as an aggravating factor in punishment, etc.) o Finally, how could [3] come about in the context of crypto (and other digital freedoms)? Whatever. Somehow, I don't think this group likes pointy questions. My apologies for the intrusion, I return to you to your regularly scheduled Choatian programming, and thoughts of edible panties. [*]appearances suggest an absence of participatory estrogen in here. ======================================================================= Electronic Journal of Sociology (1996) ISSN: 1176 7323 Cyber McCarthyism: Witch Hunts in the Living Room http://www.sociology.org/content/vol002.001/ling.html <snippage> [1] "This paper examines the potential for electronic communication to spark mass hate such as that seen in colonial Salem and during the McCarthy period." [2] "The elements which go into the development of mass hate include the following: 1) strains on the community through the recognition of a moral boundary crisis and identification of villains, 2) crystallizing of patterned labelling through a degradation ceremony, 3) appropriation of the social apparatus and suppression of critique mechanisms, 4) restoration of a normal situation." [3] "Finally, the fervour came under control. In both of these cases this occurred when the mass hate became a serious threat to the established power structure, members of the government in the case of colonial Salem and the Army in the case of McCarthyism." <end snippage> Respectfully, mailto:aimee.farr@pobox.com Aimee E. Farr, Esq. LAW OFFICE OF AIMEE E. FARR 5400 Bosque, Suite 675 Waco, Texas 76710-4418 office: 254.751.0030 fax: 254.751.09673

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Re: The meek will inherit what, exactly?
by Warren Piece 13 Feb '01

13 Feb '01

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." -Matthew 5, verse 5. >I regard that one verse, and its implications, as one of the most >dire, tragic, and hopeless of all the prophecies in the bible. "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." - Ecclesiastes I, verse 9 your statement is not so new. even the Bible itself gives phrophecy about the destruction of the world. so, those who lived in the 'old days' were not really (or did not need to be) ignorant concerning the destruction which would befall the earth. of course, the catch is to recognize/accept the new jerusalem as the inheritance of the "redeemed". _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

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The Register -- web anonymity promised
by Jim Choate 13 Feb '01

13 Feb '01

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/8/16852.html -- ____________________________________________________________________ Before a larger group can see the virtue of an idea, a smaller group must first understand it. "Stranger Suns" George Zebrowski The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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Pentagon warns Fidel Castro could launch cyberattack against U.S.
by Declan McCullagh 13 Feb '01

13 Feb '01

----- Forwarded message from Declan McCullagh <declan(a)well.com> ----- ********* Transcript of hearing: http://www.cluebot.com/article.pl?sid=01/02/08/1638232 1998 transcript: http://www.cluebot.com/article.pl?sid=01/02/08/0526201 ********* http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,41700,00.html Feds Say Fidel Is Hacker Threat by Declan McCullagh (declan(a)wired.com) 2:00 a.m. Feb. 9, 2001 PST WASHINGTON -- These must be jittery times for anyone in the military who uses the Internet. Not only do they have to guard against Love Bug worms and security holes in Microsoft Outlook -- now they've got to worry about Fidel Castro hacking into their computers. Admiral Tom Wilson, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, says the 74-year-old communist dictator may be preparing a cyberattack against the United States. Wilson told the Senate Intelligence Committee during a public hearing Wednesday that Castro's armed forces could initiate an "information warfare or computer network attack" that could "disrupt our military." The panel later went into closed session to discuss classified material. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked in response: "And you would say that there is a real threat that they might go that route?" Replied Wilson: "There's certainly the potential for them to employ those kind of tactics against our modern and superior military." He said that Cuba's conventional military might was lacking, but its intelligence operations were substantial. The partly classified hearing is an annual event -- and an important one: It represents this year's World Threat Assessment discussion. That's a chance for the intelligence committee to set its agenda for this session of Congress and hear from senior intelligence officials about the latest national security threats. In addition to the aging president of Cuba, witnesses and senators both cited encryption as another technology-related threat during a far-ranging discussion that also encompassed nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the committee's hawkish chairman, said that the classified hearing later in the day would "explore the challenges posed by, among others, the proliferation of encryption technology, the increasing sophistication of denial and deception techniques, the need to modernize and to recapitalize the National Security Agency, and other shortfalls in intelligence funding." [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if it remains intact. To subscribe, visit http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- End forwarded message -----

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nightline TONIGHT morphed kiddy porn case
by Declan McCullagh 13 Feb '01

13 Feb '01

FSC Does Nightline WASHINGTON - Free Speech Coalition general counsel Jeffrey Douglas and lobbyist Kat Sunlove will discuss the so-called "virtual child porn" case, FSC v. Reno, tonight on Nightline, the long-running late-night ABC news program hosted by Ted Koppel. The program usually begins at 11:30 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on local and regional ABC affiliates following local news. Check your local television listings - you will not want to miss this critical discussion on the question of whether a computerized image that resembles a child can be classified the same way as an actual image of an actual child.

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Re: [The meek will inherit what, exactly?]
by LUIS VILDOSOLA 13 Feb '01

13 Feb '01

Thanks for getting back on this issue. However materially or epistemologically contaminated the world becomes, the meek are the most in number today and historically. Take a look at the third world, it lives on charity and contamination in great numbers. Indeed, if there is a world to inherit and the human race is not destroyed as you say by a nuclear furnace, it looks to me the meek will inherit the world. That is my view and try projecting it without value judgments. Ray Dillinger <bear(a)sonic.net> wrote: > > > > On 12 Feb 2001, LUIS VILDOSOLA wrote: > > > >But let's not worry so much of differences in power, for the poor and peace > >makers will inherit the world. -somewhere in the Bible- > > "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." > -Matthew 5, verse 5. > > Think about that, though. While it may have seemed reassuring > to our ancestors, who did not anticipate modern capabilities for > destruction, what exactly will be left for the meek to inherit, > after all the non-meek run roughshod over this sorry old planet > until it becomes too decripit for them to exploit and they go > elsewhere leaving it to the meek? > > I don't think prime real estate, exactly, Perhaps a near-barren > rock with a poisonous radioactive atmosphere and a few surviving > species of insects and fungus. Perhaps less than that. > > I regard that one verse, and its implications, as one of the most > dire, tragic, and hopeless of all the prophecies in the bible. > > Bear > > > ____________________________________________________________________ Get free email and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=1

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Antigen found =*.vbs file
by ANTIGEN_EXCHANGE 12 Feb '01

12 Feb '01

Antigen for Exchange found AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs matching =*.vbs file filter. The file is currently Deleted. The message, "Here you have, ;o)", was sent from Vin McLellan and was discovered in IMC Queues\Inbound located at ITC/Corporate/EXCHANGE.

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Anonymous Internet for Federal Agents
by George＠Orwellian.Org 12 Feb '01

12 Feb '01

What, no article from Chaotic today regarding NASA landing a craft on an asteroid? He only sent it to his three other lists? Whaaaaa! ---- http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB981939629132013437.htm # # February 12, 2001 # # Small Start-Up Helps the CIA # To Mask Its Moves on the Web # # By NEIL KING JR. # Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL # # How's this for a curious pairing? Stephen Hsu and his partners # at SafeWeb Inc. launch a Web site (www.safeweb.com) offering # the utmost in Internet privacy -- and then hook up with the # notoriously intrusive Central Intelligence Agency. # # The new alliance between the Oakland, Calif., entrepreneurs and # the spooks from Langley, Va., shows how serious the CIA is about # improving its spycraft. The agency two years ago set up its own # venture-capital firm, known as In-Q-Tel, to search out just the # sort of innovations that SafeWeb offers. # # The CIA, in this case, wants to use a SafeWeb program to mask # its own movements on the Internet, so it can gather information # incognito. SafeWeb suggests that the CIA also might use its # technology to allow its far-flung agents and informants to # communicate home, without the countries they are spying on ever # knowing. # # What's puzzling is why a tiny, year-old start-up would want to # link up with an agency that is the nemesis of privacy buffs # everywhere. # # "I'm sure we'll take a hit from the 5% of our most paranoid # customers," says Mr. Hsu, SafeWeb's 34-year-old co-founder and # a theoretical physicist by training. But the CIA connection, # he says, is deliberately distant. SafeWeb will provide the agency # with customized software, but the CIA will have no access to # the company's Web computers or to the workings of its core # software, he insists. # # And who better to test the power of its privacy software than # the world's top spies? "If our technology can satisfy them," # Mr. Hsu says, "it can satisfy just about anyone." # # The technology is a clever piece of software called Triangle # Boy that SafeWeb plans to post free this month on the Web. The # CIA, through In-Q-Tel, is investing in a revved-up version of # the software, which can bounce digital traffic around the Web # anonymously, as well as rights to an equity stake in SafeWeb # should the company go public. Neither side will disclose financial # details. # # The CIA has been slow to mine the riches of the Internet for # fear of exposing its own vast computer network to viruses or # hacker attacks. It also worries that others will monitor its # activities if it roams the Web without proper disguise. # # What SafeWeb offers is a chance to move about the Internet without # leaving any trace. Users simply go to the company's Web site # and type in the address of the actual site they are seeking. # SafeWeb's site acts as an intermediary; anyone monitoring the # activity would see only the traffic between the user's computer # and SafeWeb -- and not the user's ultimate destination. The site # recorded more than one million unique visits last month. # # But what really caught the CIA's fancy was Triangle Boy, a # software package that can turn any personal computer into a # surrogate Web server. The system allows users to navigate to # any number of innocuous PC addresses, and then go to the actual # Web site they are seeking -- without leaving a trace. Triangle # Boy works by forwarding the request for the desired Web site # on to SafeWeb's site, which then makes the connection. SafeWeb # developed Triangle Boy to deter companies or countries from # blocking access to its site, as Saudi Arabia did last November. # # CIA specialists say their core interest in Triangle Boy is # anonymous Internet browsing. "We want to operate anywhere on # the Internet in a way that no one knows the CIA is looking at # them," says a senior CIA official with connections to the In-Q-Tel # team. # # But the possible uses go way beyond that. SafeWeb says the agency # also could use the technology as a secure way for its "assets," # or contacts, to communicate with CIA headquarters. The CIA also # suggests that it may one day build a global network made up of # Triangle Boys and servers equipped with SafeWeb-style software # to communicate with employees and informants. CIA Director George # Tenet told the Senate last week that one of his chief ambitions # is "to take modern Web-based technology and apply it to our # business relentlessly." # # The SafeWeb technology could prove just as handy in getting # information covertly into other countries. It was this application # that originally inspired Mr. Hsu to reach out to the CIA last # summer. "I imagined them wanting to use Triangle Boy to get Voice # of America or something like that into countries where it was # blocked," he said. # # Others suggest more devious possibilities. An application like # Triangle Boy, if scattered among hundreds of PCs, could be a # way to cloak a multipronged "cyber attack" on someone else's # computer system. The CIA, along with the Pentagon, has worked # for years to perfect ways to electronically meddle with other # countries' banking systems or electricity grids, and Triangle # Boy could allow them to do it without the target ever knowing # who was behind the attack. "It would be the functional equivalent # of an electronic silencer," says one technology expert with wide # experience in the intelligence community. "You could shoot # electronic bullets right down the pipe without anyone knowing # where they came from." Intelligence officials deny they have # any interest in using Triangle Boy for offensive attacks. # # The CIA wants the strengthened version of Triangle Boy # reconfigured so it can handle the CIA's own much higher-powered # encryption. It also wants to ensure that only its own employees # and contacts can communicate via Triangle Boy. SafeWeb is expected # to deliver the customized version by April. # # Some observers suggest that the CIA's real interest is figuring # out how to crack Triangle Boy and to thwart its use among the # public. Encryption and the spread of Internet-based communications # have made life miserable for the National Security Agency, the # CIA's sister organization responsible for electronic eavesdropping # around the world. Software such as Triangle Boy will render the # challenge that much tougher. # # But the CIA denies the allegation. "We're looking to use new # technology, not to break it," said the CIA official, who added # that the NSA was informed of the Triangle Boy investment and # will later get to inspect the software. But with or without CIA # involvement, the official said, technology is moving too fast # for the NSA to keep up. # # For Mr. Hsu, the key is to manage the relationship with the CIA # without damaging his company's reputation. His customers, after # all, are people who take privacy very seriously, so trust is # a critical part of its business model. There are already glimmers # of suspicion in some Internet chat rooms. "This could be the # greatest NSA trap ever," wrote one skeptic of the SafeWeb site. # "This actually makes it easier for people to spy on you," wrote # another. # # Mr. Hsu, though, insists that the CIA relationship is "completely # separate from our core business." The agency will have no access # to SafeWeb's operations or insider knowledge of its proprietary # software. But on the other hand, he says, if the CIA is pleased # with its customized version of Triangle Boy and puts it to use, # "that will be a big seal of approval from the government."

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Here you have, ;o)
by Vin McLellan 12 Feb '01

12 Feb '01

Hi: Check This!

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