December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Digital Cash application
by jim bell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

In 1996, the Libertarian Party will apparently qualify for Federal matching funds for its Presidential political campaign. That does not mean that it will _accept_ them, being stolen goods. However, a few years ago I heard of an idea that they should accept the money, and return it to the people, a small amount at a time, to whomever asks for it. Besides returning the stolen money to its rightful owners, that would produce substantial positive publicity for the Libertarian party, embarrassment for the Democrats and Republicans, while at the same time reducing the amount of money available for the D's and the R's. But there's been a practical question of how to actively do this, economically. Issuing checks and mailing them costs money, and they're traceable, etc. The advent of digital cash suggests an answer: Make the payments in the form of digital cash, payable on the Web. This will encourage the use of digital cash, and provide a sudden infusion that will promote other uses. There's another advantage, however. Since "Netizens" are somewhat biased towards libertarianism, this will have the effect of keeping more of this money "in the family" as it were, while at the same time being open, technically, to everyone who can get on the 'net. Jim Bell jimbell(a)pacifier.com

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Re: Federal key registrat
by harka＠nycmetro.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-=> Quoting In:jimbell@pacifier.com to Harka <=- > "Some of our >most important prosecutions have depended on wire taps." In> But is the average citizen substantially impacted by crimes that would In> be assisted by good encryption? Probably not. And how about: "Would not the average citizen be assisted by good encryption to NOT be impacted by (certain) crimes?" And from that perspective, shouldn't the protection of millions of "average" citizens have much more importance than the "unprotection" (i.e. Clipper) of a few godfathers, who _might_ use e-mail and who _might_ use crypto? >Reno told the group that effectively regulating electronic encryption will >depend on finding a balance between protecting privacy interests while >stopping criminals from cashing in on the new technology. In> I see no need for a "balance." I think that the advent of good In> encryption has the effect of increasing the security of individuals. Absolutely. As somebody a few days ago already mentioned in connection with the CDA, the gov.'s have enjoyed a lot of centralized power so far. A medium like the Net is the antithesis to that kind of centralization. Now all over the world gov.'s try to hold on to the "old" way, which _only_ works if things are regulated, censored, outlawed etc.. That is what ensures the survival of centralized and hierarchical structures. But they are failing to realize, that people's conciousness changes _away_ from such limiting ways towards more open and natural relationships. The Net is maybe the (currently) most important medium in that process and will be hopefully the last nail in the coffin of governments, as we know 'em. Harka ... "If cryptography is outlawed, no outlaw will use clipper" -:) ___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30 [NR]

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Re: Class III InfoWar: TST Article
by norm＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 7:15 AM 6/18/96, Moroni wrote: > What are the effects of an EMP on the persons releasing the bomb >,those in te vacinity and what is the distance that the bomb has a >physical effect on people. Also ,is there any knowledge of reusable EMP >bombs yet? > TIA .... Interesting idea. I have no idea about impact on humans. The capacitor connected to some wierd shape antenna all assembled in a vacuume to muffle the sound upon discharge would probably be reusable. It also probably provides only a fraction of the energy of a high explosive version.

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Re: Federal key registration agency [NOISE]
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 10:20 AM 6/18/96 -0500, you wrote: >> Compuserve Online Today Daily Edition, 15 June 1996: >> >> Attorney General Janet Reno ... said her plan would require people to >> register with the new agency the secret codes -- or "keys" -- they use >> to encrypt messages online. > >This would be the "Bad Cop" line, for those playing along at home. Problem is, she's the one playing Good Cop. :-) # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart +1-415-442-2215 stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # http://www.idiom.com/~wcs # Dispel Authority!

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Re: Federal key registration agency
by Anonymous User 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>Compuserve Online Today Daily Edition, 15 June 1996: > >Speaking to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco, Reno said >her plan would require people to register with the new agency the secret >codes -- or "keys" -- they use to encrypt messages online. > >Reporting on this speech, Sandra Ann Harris of United Press International >adds, "Federal authorities could then obtain the information they need to >decipher the encryptions using a court order and secretly monitor electronic >communication on the Internet the same way wiretaps are used to monitor >telephone conversations of suspected criminals." Consider the logic of this statement. If some *criminal* has registered his/her secret key with the government, then why the hell would s/he then encrypt an incrimating message knowing the government could crack it?! Great plan, Janet..... Medea

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Re: Applied Cryptography disks / EMP noise.
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 11:43 AM 6/18/96 -0400, you wrote: > Hi, > Didn't I read that with the new Applied Cryptography there was a >diskette or cd included that had all the programs on it? I noticed a copy >at the B Dalton and when I looked at it it contained no cd or diskette. >Was the aforementioned new edition with disk/cd a limited edition >available through the mail only? If you look at the inside back cover of the book you'll find instructions for ordering the diskette, just as there were with Edition 1. Distributing the diskette with the book was too much trouble for the publisher, given the ITAR issues. The disks that Phil Karn applied for export permission for had just the code from the book typed in, and not any other material that may have been on the official disks, but they still denied it. As far as EMP goes, there are three interesting kinds of EMP generators 1) Nuclear weapons, detonated at high altitude to get wide spread EMP effects. The folks who drop such things generally clear out of the territory very fast before the explosion. 2) Mythical portable devices for attacking computer facilities - the folks who set off these don't exist, so they don't need to worry about the effects. 3) Very large capacitor/inductor banks at defense contractors like Harry Diamond Labs in New Mexico, which are used to test electronic equipment (up to airplane size) for EMP-resistance. They're supposedly quite impressive structures (the buildings used for the equipment under test are all wood) and the folks who run them are careful about lots of things when using them. # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart +1-415-442-2215 stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # http://www.idiom.com/~wcs # Dispel Authority!

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This might be interesting...
by nobody＠flame.alias.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Do an AltaVista Query on: url:bmh.com crypto*

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German Federal Bank opposes e-cash
by um＠c2.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

[What follows is my translation of a Reuters news item as seen on a mailing list.] "Risks with computer money" Frankfurt - the Federal Bank has once more warned against security risks with computer money. There is the danger that "Cyber-Money" stored in computers be counterfeited, said Directory Board member Edgar Meister at a conference in Schwaebisch-Hall. In addition there were the danger of money laundry, because the computer money could be wired across borders without problems. Meister announced that, if necessary, the EU Central Banks would take counter-measures, should computer money and re-loadable payment cards endanger the monetary policy. (rtr/18.6.96)

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RE: Fuseable Links - no guarantees??
by geeman＠best.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

---------- From: Christian Wettergren[SMTP:cwe@it.kth.se] Sent: Tuesday, June 18, 1996 11:40 PM To: Timothy C. May Cc: cypherpunks(a)toad.com Subject: Re: Fuseable Links - no guarantees?? So I guess one can look at the circuitry and apply non-standard voltage and current values, or even non-standard timing values -- and do bad things to these circuits. So this begs the question: Is there anyone who has looked at "computer security" issues at this level? >>> Of course, many have.

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Re: Safemail
by Joseph M. Reagle Jr. 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 04:19 PM 6/18/96 -0400, you wrote: > SafeMail uses a proprietary Russian algorithm. Maybe it is GOST. Schneir covers it, and there is a white paper on it at the b_crypt site. _______________________ Regards, Democracy is where you can say what you think even if you don't think. - Joseph Reagle http://rpcp.mit.edu/~reagle/home.html reagle(a)mit.edu E0 D5 B2 05 B6 12 DA 65 BE 4D E3 C1 6A 66 25 4E

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Oil Change software snoops through hard drive
by declan＠well.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Alan forwarded this to me. Thought it might be interesting. -Declan ------------------------------- Heads up: Privacy & Continuous Access Ks implicated by new software This press release for a new product - a software agent - has implications for privacy and continuing access issues, because it works by scanning user's hard disks and automatically providing software updates. Unanswered Qs: 1) What other kinds of info does/can it troll for? 2) What does it do when it finds unregistered software? 3) Does it implicate ECPA? 4) Will updates be available through other means? 5) Must a user affirmatively grant permission to the software agent? 6) Can a user decline or limit the agent's access? 7) What uses may the agent's owner make of data collected? etc. Alan L --- press release: *** "Digital Oil Change" CyberMedia announced today at PC Expo that it plans to automatically "service" personal computer software via the Net with a newly unveiled product called Oil Change. The company reports that Oil Change automatically replaces outdated, bug-ridden software and hardware drivers with clean updates. CyberMedia says the product is designed to use the Net to find, download, and install updates to Microsoft Windows 95 software applications and drivers. Oil Change reportedly tracks all currently installed versions and revisions of all Windows 95 software and hardware drivers on a PC, and then dials into CyberMedia's Internet Web Server for related updates. Users in need of an update are alerted by Oil Change with a description of what the update will do, and then the product finds the update on a software manufacturer's Web site, downloads, and installs it. Beginning today, CyberMedia says it will offer a free beta version of Oil Change for a limited time at its Web site.

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The IESG: Protocol Action: MIME Security with Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) to Proposed Standard
by Perry E. Metzger 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

------- Forwarded Message To: IETF-Announce:; Cc: RFC Editor <rfc-editor(a)isi.edu> Cc: Internet Architecture Board <iab(a)isi.edu> From: The IESG <iesg-secretary(a)CNRI.Reston.VA.US> Subject: Protocol Action: MIME Security with Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) to Proposed Standard Date: Wed, 19 Jun 96 11:06:28 -0400 Message-ID: <9606191106.aa22287(a)IETF.CNRI.Reston.VA.US> The IESG has approved the Internet-Draft "MIME Security with Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)" <draft-elkins-pem-pgp-04.txt> as a Proposed Standard. This has been reviewed in the IETF but is not the product of an IETF Working Group. The IESG contact persons are Harald Alvestrand, Keith Moore, and Jeff Schiller. Technical Summary This document describes how Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) can be used to provide privacy and authentication using the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) security content types described in RFC1847. Working Group Summary This document was not the product of an IETF working group but was reviewed via a 4 week IETF wide last call. The last call failed to raise any significant issues. Protocol Quality This document was reviewed for the IESG by Jeffrey I. Schiller. The protocol provides for an elegant way of encapsulating PGP objects within a MIME framework by making use of Security Multiparts for MIME (RFC1847). This permits a MIME aware user agent to read and process PGP signed and/or encrypted messages, yet it provides sufficient backwards compatibility for users with non-MIME aware mail user agents to make use of PGP directly to manually process messages prepared with this protocol. ------- End of Forwarded Message

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Re: Federal key registrat
by harka＠nycmetro.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-=> Quoting In:nobody@c2.org to Harka <=- >Speaking to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco, Reno said >her plan would require people to register with the new agency the secret >codes -- or "keys" -- they use to encrypt messages online. My keys? Sure Janet, no problem. pgp -kg (80000 times) Now can I email the hundred meg to you? :) Harka ___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30 [NR]

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Re: German Federal Bank opposes e-cash
by jim bell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 12:25 PM 6/19/96 +0200, Ulf Moeller wrote: >[What follows is my translation of a Reuters news item as seen on a >mailing list.] > >"Risks with computer money" > >Frankfurt - the Federal Bank has once more warned against security risks >with computer money. There is the danger that "Cyber-Money" stored in >computers be counterfeited, said Directory Board member Edgar Meister >at a conference in Schwaebisch-Hall. Then the banks just need to be more careful about issuing it, huh? >In addition there were the danger >of money laundry, because the computer money could be wired across >borders without problems. Which, interestingly enough, is exactly the reason citizens should support it. Barry Goldwater, the 1964 US Presidential candidate, said something like "Any government that is powerful enough to give you everything you want, is powerful enough to take away everything you have." It was true, then, and it's true today. Fast-forward to 1996: Any government powerful enough to be able to eliminate money-laundering is powerful enough to eliminate all of our rights. I'm not willing to take that risk, and the way I see it, people who see digital cash as an undesirable risk to government are a risk to me. Meister announced that, if necessary, the EU >Central Banks would take counter-measures, should computer money and >re-loadable payment cards endanger the monetary policy. (rtr/18.6.96) Maybe somebody should tell Herr Meister that should actions of government be threatening, "Citizens would take counter-measures, should restrictions on computer money and reloadable payment cards endanger their rights." Jim Bell jimbell(a)pacifier.com

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Re: Digital Cash application
by declan＠well.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Jim: This is a nice idea, but it's not going to happen. Yes, Harry Browne has raised enough money to qualify for matching funds from the FEC. But he's unable to give out the cash or use it to pay down the gvt debt since doing so could violate FEC regulations. The FEC is also unwilling only to certify Browne for matching funds without giving it to him -- he's got to take the money and spend it on campaign foo and nothing else, says the government. Finally, once they give you cash you have to meet a higher degree of scrutiny, which costs money in lawyers and accountants. Talk about bureaucracy. At least this is what the party tells me. I'll be covering their convention, which is in DC a few weeks from now. -Declan >In 1996, the Libertarian Party will apparently qualify for Federal matching >funds for its Presidential political campaign. That does not mean that it >will _accept_ them, being stolen goods. However, a few years ago I heard of >an idea that they should accept the money, and return it to the people, a >small amount at a time, to whomever asks for it. Besides returning the >stolen money to its rightful owners, that would produce substantial positive >publicity for the Libertarian party, embarrassment for the Democrats and >Republicans, while at the same time reducing the amount of money available >for the D's and the R's. > > >But there's been a practical question of how to actively do this, >economically. Issuing checks and mailing them costs money, and they're >traceable, etc. The advent of digital cash suggests an answer: Make the >payments in the form of digital cash, payable on the Web. This will >encourage the use of digital cash, and provide a sudden infusion that will >promote other uses. There's another advantage, however. Since "Netizens" >are somewhat biased towards libertarianism, this will have the effect of >keeping more of this money "in the family" as it were, while at the same >time being open, technically, to everyone who can get on the 'net. > > >Jim Bell >jimbell(a)pacifier.com

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[Free Beer] Talk on "Can Secrets be Stopped?" at Comp Lit.
by Peter Wayner 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

After the talk tonight at Computer Literacy, I plan on buying a round or two of beers for cypherpunks. It's just a way of saying "thank you" to the endless stream of information that the list generates. I don't think I could have written the book without the help of many on the list. The talk begins at Computer Literacy (2590 North First Street at the corner of Trimble) at 6:30. It will cover some simple ways to hide information (steganography) and it will be given at a very general level. The bookstore invited me to give the talk to flog my book "Disappearing Cryptography." (For info about the book, check out my web page http://access.digex.net/~pcw/pcwpage.html ) The beer begins flowing at the Tide House after the talk and questions. This is the Tide House at 65 North San Pedro at San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose. They inform me that they offer validated parking at some garage next door. The password for the evening will be "swordfish". I've gotten to know some list members over the years via email and it would be nice to meet you in person. For more information, call the bookstore at 408-435-5015. I would also appreciate it if you could email me so I could get a preliminary head count. Feel free to come at the last minute, but try and send some notice. -Peter Wayner

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Re: Digital Cash application
by declan＠well.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Whether it's a good idea or not -- and I'm told that it could violate FEC rules -- it's not going to happen. A campaign spokesperson told me that "Harry refuses" to take the cash, period. -Declan >At 01:24 PM 6/19/96 -0500, Declan McCullagh wrote: >>Jim: >> >>This is a nice idea, but it's not going to happen. >> >>Yes, Harry Browne has raised enough money to qualify for matching funds >>from the FEC. But he's unable to give out the cash or use it to pay down >>the gvt debt since doing so could violate FEC regulations. The FEC is also >>unwilling only to certify Browne for matching funds without giving it to >>him -- he's got to take the money and spend it on campaign foo and nothing >>else, says the government. Finally, once they give you cash you have to >>meet a higher degree of scrutiny, which costs money in lawyers and >>accountants. >>Talk about bureaucracy. >>At least this is what the party tells me. I'll be covering their >>convention, which is in DC a few weeks from now. > >It seems to me that since paying people funds that were stolen from them >would produce good publicity, which by definition could be argued to be >spending it on the campaign. Sure, it's a non-traditional tactic, but that >doesn't mean it's in violation of the campaign law. They could also email >along a set of libertarian literature, and the recipient would certify that >he would promote the libertarian cause and work for the election of the >candidate, etc, etc. > >As for "lawyers and accountants": I'm sure there are enough >libertarian-leaning lawyers and accountants around who would be willing to >help out to make this project a net positive. Remember, the publicity is >the important thing. > > > >> >>-Declan >> >> >>>In 1996, the Libertarian Party will apparently qualify for Federal matching >>>funds for its Presidential political campaign. That does not mean that it >>>will _accept_ them, being stolen goods. However, a few years ago I heard of >>>an idea that they should accept the money, and return it to the people, a >>>small amount at a time, to whomever asks for it. Besides returning the >>>stolen money to its rightful owners, that would produce substantial positive >>>publicity for the Libertarian party, embarrassment for the Democrats and >>>Republicans, while at the same time reducing the amount of money available >>>for the D's and the R's. >>> >>> >>>But there's been a practical question of how to actively do this, >>>economically. Issuing checks and mailing them costs money, and they're >>>traceable, etc. The advent of digital cash suggests an answer: Make the >>>payments in the form of digital cash, payable on the Web. This will >>>encourage the use of digital cash, and provide a sudden infusion that will >>>promote other uses. There's another advantage, however. Since "Netizens" >>>are somewhat biased towards libertarianism, this will have the effect of >>>keeping more of this money "in the family" as it were, while at the same >>>time being open, technically, to everyone who can get on the 'net. >>> >>> >>>Jim Bell >>>jimbell(a)pacifier.com >> >> >> >> >Jim Bell >jimbell(a)pacifier.com

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FBI utters root passsword to the Constitution
by anonymous-remailer＠shell.portal.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

FBI InfoSec Guru Randy Perlman (Prilamen? Filament?) was interviewed on CNN BizNews this morning by Deborah Marchini: "Hackers" are menacing the net and society. Marchini prompted him but he concurred: Hackers are a *THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY*. There you have it, the root password to the Constitution. Illegal wiretapping, assassination, anything is now justified in the defense of our NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE. bd

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Re: Digital Cash application
by jim bell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 01:24 PM 6/19/96 -0500, Declan McCullagh wrote: >Jim: > >This is a nice idea, but it's not going to happen. > >Yes, Harry Browne has raised enough money to qualify for matching funds >from the FEC. But he's unable to give out the cash or use it to pay down >the gvt debt since doing so could violate FEC regulations. The FEC is also >unwilling only to certify Browne for matching funds without giving it to >him -- he's got to take the money and spend it on campaign foo and nothing >else, says the government. Finally, once they give you cash you have to >meet a higher degree of scrutiny, which costs money in lawyers and >accountants. >Talk about bureaucracy. >At least this is what the party tells me. I'll be covering their >convention, which is in DC a few weeks from now. It seems to me that since paying people funds that were stolen from them would produce good publicity, which by definition could be argued to be spending it on the campaign. Sure, it's a non-traditional tactic, but that doesn't mean it's in violation of the campaign law. They could also email along a set of libertarian literature, and the recipient would certify that he would promote the libertarian cause and work for the election of the candidate, etc, etc. As for "lawyers and accountants": I'm sure there are enough libertarian-leaning lawyers and accountants around who would be willing to help out to make this project a net positive. Remember, the publicity is the important thing. > >-Declan > > >>In 1996, the Libertarian Party will apparently qualify for Federal matching >>funds for its Presidential political campaign. That does not mean that it >>will _accept_ them, being stolen goods. However, a few years ago I heard of >>an idea that they should accept the money, and return it to the people, a >>small amount at a time, to whomever asks for it. Besides returning the >>stolen money to its rightful owners, that would produce substantial positive >>publicity for the Libertarian party, embarrassment for the Democrats and >>Republicans, while at the same time reducing the amount of money available >>for the D's and the R's. >> >> >>But there's been a practical question of how to actively do this, >>economically. Issuing checks and mailing them costs money, and they're >>traceable, etc. The advent of digital cash suggests an answer: Make the >>payments in the form of digital cash, payable on the Web. This will >>encourage the use of digital cash, and provide a sudden infusion that will >>promote other uses. There's another advantage, however. Since "Netizens" >>are somewhat biased towards libertarianism, this will have the effect of >>keeping more of this money "in the family" as it were, while at the same >>time being open, technically, to everyone who can get on the 'net. >> >> >>Jim Bell >>jimbell(a)pacifier.com > > > > Jim Bell jimbell(a)pacifier.com

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MasterCard Seeks Revision in On-Line Bill
by se7en 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

A MasterCard International official told a congressional committee Wednesday that encryption technology is "vital to the development and security" of a number of its products, including its smart card program. Joel Lisker, MasterCard International senior vice president for security and risk management, testified in support of the "Promotion of Commerce On-Line an the Digital Era Act" bill. But he urged that the legislation be amended to address security concerns arising from the resale and reexportation of encryption technology. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., would allow the unrestricted exportation of mass-market or public-domain encryption programs and permit the exportation of encryption technologies if similar programs are available outside the United States. Encryption permits a message to be changed into a code that will keep information inaccessible to persons not authorized to have that information. The bill would promote "cryptographic competition" by making it easier for U.S. companies to export encryption technology and remain competitive with foreign firms that can sell their products freely here, Mr. Lisker observed. But Mr. Lisker urged that the bill be amended to increase the penalties for the rexportation and resale of this technology to questionable buyers, including criminals. "Modernizing the federal regulatory approach to encryption technology must be accomplished without weakening the ability of law enforcement agencies to pursue criminal activity," he testified. Also submitting testimony at Wednesday's hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on science, technology, and space were representatives from Lotus, Netscape, Electronic Data Systems Corp., and America Online. se7en

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Electronic Transaction Hardware Source
by se7en 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hypercom, 2851 W. Kathleen Road, Pheonix, AZ 85023, Tel: (602) 866-5399 Fax: (602) 866-5380, (800) 578-2436 is advertising the following: ICR1 Smart Card Reader and T7E Terminal; CS7GC Signature Capture PIN Pad; S8 Secure PIN Pad; T7P Credit/Debit Terminal with Integrated Printer; T7PRA Cellular Terminal Have phun boys!! se7en

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Re: Safemail
by droelke＠rdxsunhost.aud.alcatel.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> > > SafeMail uses a proprietary Russian algorithm. > > Maybe it is GOST. Schneir covers it, and there is a white paper on > it at the b_crypt site. > I spoke with a fellow there for about 20 minutes today about their program. Sounded like these guys are just front-ends and obviously know nothing about the technology. (Couldn't answer how many bits of the "22 character" key were in use) He did assure me it wasn't GOST, or anything published. Story was that a Russian emigrant (sp?) came over to the US and this is his algorithm. Apparently this person is not willing (at this time) to put the algorithm out for public review. I spent most of my time pushing for some sort of peer review. Supposedly they have talked with Schneier and Denning, about the method but neither has done more than talk with them briefly about the method. (I understood from what he said that they weren't willing to pay Bruce what it would take to do a through review. ;-) I also spent some time educating them about PGP and how it does do compression, ASCII armour, etc. All in all they guy was plesant enough, but no real details on how the system works. What I got was that they "private" key is what you type in. This is then hashed (he even used the word hash) into a 22 character public key that you share with your friends. Even at 8 bits/charcter, 176 bits doesn't sound secure for a public key algorithm, but then again this isn't RSA we are looking at. All in all it still sounds like snake oil to me! Dan ------------------------------------------------------------------ Dan Oelke Alcatel Network Systems droelke(a)aud.alcatel.com Richardson, TX

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Dutch smartcard alert: De Waag, Amsterdam, 6/19 1900 hrs
by tbyfield＠panix.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Any C'punks and/or interested parties who happen to be in Amsterdam might want to pay a visit to De Waag this Friday night, ~7pm: AFAIK, the Chipknip--the electronic cash system tested in Arnhem--is making its public debut in the restaurant/cafe "In De Waag." It looks like a bad standard, imo: smartcards storing x<fl50, PIN-card dependent ( -> True Name), transaction records kept (duration unknown) by the implementing company, Interpay. If you're interested in the standard ("VIC"?), get in touch with Interpay: they _have_ released the payment boxes (real cute: an LCD screen, a green "ja" button and a yellow "?" button), and I've seen a Rabobank wallet-reader. For now, the cards stay in De Waag. Full rollout should be about the end of this year. Ted

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Current status of RSA patent...
by Paul S. Penrod 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Can anyone provide additional information on the RSA patent status? If memory serves me, it is due to expire sometime in 1997. Also, what are the ramifications of deploying software based around it, such as PGP 2.62i (from UK)? ...Paul ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everybody gets busy on the proof" -- John Kenneth Galbraith "Success is attending a funeral as a spectator" -- E. BonAnno -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Re: Federal key registration agency
by shamrock＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 16:27 6/18/96, TM Peters wrote: >Speaking to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco, Reno said >her plan would require people to register with the new agency the secret >codes -- or "keys" -- they use to encrypt messages online. The cat is out of the bag. Janet Reno is calling for mandatory Government Access to Keys. Not that her statement would surprise anyone on this list. Still, I believe the administration has never before publicly stated that people will be _required_ to deposit their encryption keys with the government. I wonder what the penalties for failure to comply with this requirement will be. [I have requested a transcript of Reno's speech from the Commonwealth Club. I will make the relevant parts available as soon as I get it]. -- Lucky Green <mailto:shamrock@netcom.com> PGP encrypted mail preferred. Disclaimer: My opinions are my own.

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