December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Appointment Verification
by inc＠jps.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Suck_My_Big_Juicy_Cock, We would like to ask for your help with a survey for a service bureau we are considering developing software for in voice communications. This software will be used to remind patients of their upcoming appointments, allow them to confirm or reschedule. After confirming which patients will not be able to make their appointment the system will contact all individuals that are on a waiting list to schedule them for open time slots..... For assisting us we will mail you a FREE certificate for 100 rolls of Kodak film and a 35 mm camera. NO ONE WIll CALL YOU! 1. Do you feel doctors would use a service which calls patients for them using a personalized Voice system reminding them of their appointments? ____yes ____NO 2. How important do you feel it is to doctors to eliminate the drudgery of staff calling patients reminding them of appointments. not important ______ somewhat important ______ Very important ______ 3. What's do you feel would be a fair price or doctors would be willing to pay for such a service? 100-$200 per month _____ 200-$300 per month _____ 300- $400 per month _____ Other ____________ Please email your answers to advance(a)ns.net If you have any suggestions on any additional automated voice service you would like to see someone develop please let us know. Thanks again for your participation.

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Re: 40-bit RC5 crack meaningless??
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Over on sci.crypt, Paul C. Kocker <pck(a)netcom.com> gave a clear and confident response to a query about the statistical difference between a brute force attack on a known Russian or English text, versus a similar attack on cyphertext with a known-plaintext sample (Strassmann's tell-tale Clue #3.) Said Kocher: The difference is negligable. With English text encrypted under a 64-bit block cipher, you know that the most significant bit of each of the 8 bytes in the block should be zero. For a wrong key, there is a 255/256 probability that at least one of these bits will be nonzero, allowing immediate rejection of the key. Keys which do produce all zero bits get tested on additional blocks until the key is either deemed correct or rejected. The extra overhead per wrong key is the sum from i=1 to infinity of i*(1/256^i), or under 0.4 percent. In practice, the slowdown is actually a couple of percent, since it complicates the skip-the-last-Fiestel-round optimization. Also, the 1/256 case requires running extra code, which can fill the microprocessor's cache with code which isn't part of the main loop, slowing things down a bit when the computer goes back to the main search. Cheers, Paul ____________________________________ http://www.cryptography.com Paul Kocher (pck(a)netcom.com) | Voicemail: +1-(415)-354-8004 Crypto consultant | FAX: +1-(415)-321-1483

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Re: Moderation, Tim, Sandy, me, etc. * Strong crypto == DES?!
by C Matthew Curtin 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- >>>>> "Jeff" == Jeff Barber <jeffb(a)issl.atl.hp.com> writes: John> Tim, the Cypherpunks have chosen to follow Sandy's lead for this John> month. I'll admit I made it easy for them, but the results are John> conclusive. There are 1311 addresses in the cypherpunks list John> today; 42 in the unedited list; and 19 in the flames list. Jeff> "Conclusively" this has shown only that most folks are willing Jeff> to go along with an experiment -- especially if it requires them Jeff> to do exactly nothing. This is precisely the category into which I fall. It is a pain to unsubscribe from a list, since my "From_" header doesn't agree with my "From:" header (the former has a specific host included, the latter only a zone), and this often triggers a message to the list owner for processing. In any case, I am willing to go along with the experiment. But a NoCeM-style approach to killing the noise is much more preferable. Failing that, an individual filter (such as procmail) is good. In any event, the responsibility of what to post and what to read should be in the hands of each reder individually. - -- Matt Curtin Chief Scientist Megasoft, Inc. cmcurtin(a)research.megasoft.com http://www.research.megasoft.com/people/cmcurtin/ I speak only for myself Hacker Security Firewall Crypto PGP Privacy Unix Perl Java Internet Intranet -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Have you encrypted your data today? iQEVAwUBMvtGmH6R34u/f3zNAQFQbwf9HYoT51vkHSjSJOnzXcphD7WLoOEq8WV1 rj33PUweZiibTyZg1JADdbS09QVgl80TE90YDJGQ/c77wwBuMKiJTVAz8jaixjCK kUJ6IiQ4Ul3Q1LfyM5iC/kphQc/ILld0PHpaZl104pLoJ13rK6FCzMaQd+MZpWoJ ZLWxrKaebFF5IH0dW9avJ3Vb5Kp+6OSGmpBwooFiq+nhuUCaeAZtOAwmutDM5d1g oDTXGmdFuDLzjAuLcQnNAwc/nRd0bBLj3b3KFYkOzNjnl3BjOw3s4XVMF4sELOCX aOnxZE/u7lP3HkAQtJ+PxHgthUbODE0ixDU0iuWSrDVm8gRAe4Xm0A== =78/T -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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ISPs vs Bells - Email FCC
by Derrick Storren 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Baby Bells want us to pay by the minute. An opportunity to tell the FCC what we think via email at isp(a)fcc.gov -- article follows. ***************************************** By Michelle V. Rafter LOS ANGELES - Regional phone companies and Internet service providers are waging a war of words over Internet traffic on the nation's local telephone network and who should pay for upgrades as the online boom continues. As a drama, the phone companies vs. Internet providers contest is dry, complicated stuff, lacking the sex appeal of, say, the power struggle between Netscape and Microsoft for control of the personal computer desktop. Even so, analysts and other industry watchers counsel consumers and businesses to take heed of the tug of war because it could affect how much they pay to use the Internet, and ultimately, how they connect to it. In one corner, Pacific Bell, Bell Atlantic and other regional phone carriers say the growth of Internet traffic is pushing local telephone networks to the breaking point. Pacific Bell, for example, says Internet surfers use its phone lines an average of 45 minutes a day -- more than twice the amount the network was built to handle. Heavy Internet use in Silicon Valley led to brief service outages in that area earlier this year, the company said. Pacific Bell and other local phone companies say they've poured millions of dollars into hardware improvements as a result of Internet traffic, improvements they claim would otherwise have been unnecessary. To help defray costs, phone companies think providers should pay for service on a per-minute basis, the way long-distance companies do, rather than by the line, like other business phone customers. Internet providers have been exempt from paying so-called access fees under a 1983 federal ruling meant to foster growth of compute data networks. On the other side, Internet service providers say phone companies have it all wrong. A recent report sponsored by the Internet Access Coalition, an industry lobby group, maintains computer traffic poses no threat to local phone networks and that earlier phone-company studies identifying trouble spots were based on theoretical claims and a few areas with engineering and planning problems that could easily be rectified. If Internet traffic was such a threat, phone companies wouldn't be exacerbating the problem by jumping into the Internet access business themselves, providers say. Rather than hurting phone companies, Internet traffic has been a windfall, according to the coalition. In 1995, local phone companies spent a total of $245 million adding 6 million residential phone lines used primarily for Internet access, but reaped $1.4 billion in revenue on those lines, the group said. If providers are required to pay access fees, they'll have no choice but to raise their rates, which could stifle Internet growth just as it's taking off, they say. Internet providers and phone companies are arguing their respective positions in Washington, where the Federal Communications Commission is considering the access-fee issue. As part of ongoing telecommunication industry reform, the FCC said in late December it would cut access fees levied on long-distance carriers and is investigating options for doing that. But the agency held off making a decision affecting Internet use to allow time for parties with an interest in the issue to present their cases. The FCC took the unusual step of setting up an e-mail address -- isp(a)fcc.gov -- consumers and others can use to send their thoughts. Internet providers and phone companies have until Feb. 21 to submit formal comments, and the agency is expected to make a ruling later this year. Even if the FCC levies access fees on providers and companies raise rates accordingly, it won't dampen consumers' love affair with the Internet, some analysts said. If, for example, Internet providers passed through an access fee of 1 cent a minute, a subscriber spending 10 hours online a month would pay an extra $6 -- hardly a deterrent, said David Goodtree, an analyst with Forrester Research in Cambridge, Mass. "Cable TV rates have doubled in the last three or four years, we got nothing more for it, but cable subscribership didn't go down because of it," Goodtree said. On one point everyone agrees -- the nation's current analog telephone network eventually will not be able to handle demand from Internet users, and must be supplanted by a digital system better suited to transmitting computer data. Both phone companies and Internet providers have begun working on solutions. Phone carriers that have offered digital ISDN (integrated services digital network) lines are stepping up their marketing efforts. Phone companies and Internet providers are investigating a new technology called digital subscriber line, or DSL, which routes Internet phone traffic around analog phone-company switches into all-digital networks. But inevitably, discussion of DSL and other new technologies circles back to who'll pay for upgrades. Sky Dayton, president of Internet provider Earthlink Networks in Pasadena, Calif., believes it is in phone companies' best interests to spend on digital upgrades because of the profit potential from selling them to companies such as his. But why should phone companies pick up all the costs when Internet service providers will benefit, too, says Pacific Bell spokesman Bob Deward. (Michelle V. Rafter writes about cyberspace and technology from Los Angeles. Reach her at mvrafter(a)deltanet.com. Opinions expressed in this column are her own.) Copyright, Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved

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Re: anonymous remailers
by Chuck Fender 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- At 05:40 PM 2/6/97 -0500, you wrote: > >c.musselman(a)internetmci.com (Charley Musselman) writes: >> C'punks -- >> When I told a friend about the alt.drugs.pot cultivation newsgroup >> and suggested that he use an anonymous remailer to post to the group, >> he laughed and said, "Who do you suppose runs the remailers? ATF, >> FBI, DEA, that's who!" Gee, it makes sense to this paranoid. Does >> anyone know the answer? Specifically, how can we choose a trusted >> remailer? > >The solution is not to choose a trusted remailer, but to choose a >group of remailers and send your message through each one I run an anonymous remailer. I have a mixmaster type at mix(a)wazoo.com nd a cypherpunk type at remailer(a)wazoo.com. Also, there is a WWW interface at http://www.wazoo.com/~remailer. I know that my system doesn't keep any recorders except number of messages that go through. I am a "secure remailer". Before I set up the remailer, I did a lot of soul searching, knowing that somewhere along the road I could help a "baby raper" or something else I find morally objectionable. I came to the conclusion, and I still think it is the right conclusion, that the public service offered by an anonymous remailer far outweighs the disadvantages of potentially helping someone I personally find objectionable. Setting up a remailer, for someone that is already running a domain, is easy enough to be almost trivial. With the explosion of domains the internet has seen in the past couple of years, at least some of the remailers have to be honest and not fronts for the DOJ, FBI, and whatever other alphabet orginizations... Obviously, you are thinking that any FBI agent that wanted to could post this exact message, and YOU ARE RIGHT! Take advantage of a string of remailers. Use proper encryption, so that none of them know more than the next hop. Make sure you vary the order of remailers you go through with each message. Being cautious, you can be almost 100% certain your message is anonymous. Chuck Sys Admin... Wazoo's Computers ====================================== PGP key for remailer(a)wazoo.com available from all public key servers of by fingering: remailer@wazoo.com...help file available by sending mail to remailer(a)wazoo.com with a subject of remailer-help ====================================== For those that missed or already deleted the list, here are some places to find more about remailers: http://WWW.CSUA.Berkeley.EDU/cypherpunks/remailer/ http://www.stack.nl/~galactus/remailers/index-anon.html http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~raph/remailer-list.html -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 4.5 Comment: Chuck Fender <<chuck(a)wazoo.com> Sys Admin for Wazoo's Computers iQCVAgUBMvtCni/mzwsxwvO5AQGbjgP/d8YfoPxHnSG4Gu6G/3Vx7GcPFK6DBj4Z FtdoNdQUgWFrMK270Ep6dz5wBIGiEJrPNpiMJQJl2mt4GRSP4RTT3zWy1T8ULclr wFnywwjieMFxyz4JBBGbyBssNZM2OqUSJIyMFXWdmQyXTKNOXqxnW9oMOu82QqLD TuHUSUaxrYU= =rJFq -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- <color><param>0000,0000,8080</param>***************************************** * </color> <bold><color><param>0000,0000,ffff</param>Wazoo's Computers </color></bold><color><param>0000,0000,8080</param>* *</color> Alamogordo's Internet Access Provider <color><param>0000,0000,8080</param>* *</color> <color><param>ffff,0000,0000</param>(505) 434-5090 </color><color><param>0000,0000,8080</param>* *****************************************</color>

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Re: 40-bit RC5 crack meaningless??
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Paul Strassmann served on the "Information Warefare - Defense" Task Force sponsored by the Defense Science Board. He has a Web site at: http://www.strassmann.com The IW-D report recounts most of the well-known info-war memes to buttress its plea for more info-warfighting funds, and says that business needs DoD protection. It de-emphasizes the encryption debate, claiming that crypto is not an important part of the problem or the solution. Remailers are not mentioned. Short and long versions of IW-D: http://jya.com/iwd.htm Winn Schwartau's infowar.com offers it too. SAIC was generously represented on the Task Force: Strassmann, Bellcore's head, a couple more. As well as others committed to "raising the bar" against attack on Info-Maginot: http://jya.com/iwdaff.htm

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Re: 40-bit RC5 crack meaningless?
by Peter Trei 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Subject: Re: 40-bit RC5 crack meaningless?? From: Peter Trei <ptrei(a)acm.org> > Subject: 40-bit RC5 crack meaningless?? Mr. Strassman allegedly sent the quoted letter to Winn Schwartaus' "infowar" mailing list, and it was then posted by persons unknown to the sci.crypt usenet group. Identity on the internet being the fluid thing it is, I apologize in advance if he never sent this letter, or if it has been modified before it reached me. The quoted letter attempts to minimize the importance of Ian Goldberg's recent bruteforce decryption of export-strength RC5 encryption. In my opinon, as described below, Mr. Strassman's arguments are without merit when applied to the situation the RSA challenges are intended to model - the security of encrypted Internet protocols. As such, I feel that his letter may lull some people into an unjustified and dangerous sense of security. > >Date: Thu, 30 Jan 1997 20:10:36 -0500 > >From: "Paul A. Strassmann" <paul(a)strassmann.com> > >Subject: Further to Goldberg's Cracking Accomplishments > >Gentlemen: > > > >As I suspected (see earlier private comment), the > >highly promoted RSA cracking contest offered > >a number of clues that ordinarly would not be > >volunteered by info-terrorists or info-criminals to > >IW Defense teams. > >These clues made the cracking significantly easier, > >because it made it possible to eliminate an enormous > >range of possible searches. What's the target, and who is doing the encrypting? These "clues" _are_ available to adversaries engaged in industrial and economic espionage; a important part of a covert infowar. It's certainly true that "info-terrorists or info-criminals" will not be so easy to tap, but the absence of these 'clues' is a red herring. They will be secure because they will use good encryption, which is not what US firms can export today. The challenges are realistic models of encrypted Internet protocols, for example IPSEC with ESP data encryption. As such, they accurately display the vulnerability of data on the Internet to espionage. > >The following was extracted verbatim from the > ><The RSA Data Security Secret-Key Challenge> > >posted on <http://www.rsa.com/rsalabs/97challenge/>: > > > >Clue #1: > > > > " ...all the RC5 contests posted as part of the RSA Secret-Key Challenge > >will use 12-round RC5 with a 32-bit word size. " > > > >Clue #2: > > > > " ...The first RC5 contest will consist of some unknown plaintext > >encrypted using a 40-bit key;." Clues #1 and #2 are absolutely reasonable - in an open standard, it is absolutely normal to know the cipher being used, it's mode, and the length of the key. See the SSL specification, or IPSEC's RFCs. > >Clue #3: (a giveway!) > > > > " ... For each contest, the unknown plaintext message is preceded by three > > known blocks of text that contain the 24-character phrase "The > > unknown message is: .....". To those who are unfamiliar with Internet protocols, this would appear to give the cryptanalyst an unrealistic head-start. This is not the case. Most Internet protocols have highly stereotyped packet headers; for example, _every_ normal return packet from a web server starts out with the string "HTTP/1.0" (servers using something other than version 1.0 are rare as hen's teeth at the moment). When you consider that such a packet may contain a firm's confidential earnings predictions or trade secrets (hopefully encrypted), the economic importance of such data is clear. Similar stereotyped headers exist for many other protocols, such as NNTP and SMTP. As such, a known-plaintext attack, as modeled by RSADSI's symmetric key challange, is quite realistic. Even if a full known plaintext for the first block is unavailable, a knowlegable cryptanalyst can usually make some very reasonable assumptions which will greatly speed his or her task. (I'm assuming DES here - which has a 64 bit block, but the argument extends easily to other block sizes). For example, if we know that the data contains only printable ASCII characters (true for the headers of most Internet protocols), then for a 64 bit block, there are 8 bits which we _know_ will be zero in the decrypted block. This lets us dispose of 255 out of every 256 incorrect trial decryptions immediately, and we will have to perform more extensive tests on less then 0.4% of candidate keys. Similar intelligent guesses can be made about the headers of other protocols, for example IPSEC-secured IPv6 packet headers in tunneling mode. Some people have noted that the challenges include the IV, or 'initialization vector' used in CBC (cipher-block-chaining) modes of encryption, and argue that this would not be available to an adversary. Once again, this assertion falls when examined in the light of actual usage. The purpose of an IV is to make dictionary and replay attacks more difficult. It is not intended to prevent brute force attacks, and so is _normally_ included in the clear in communications protocols (for example, see RFC 1827 for it's clear transmission in IPSEC). If it is not included, it is effectively part of the keying material, and thus adds it's bits to the strength of the key. As such, its value would have to be transmitted and protected as carefully as the rest of the key. > >In summary: The claim of exportable cryptography being totally > >insecure, because it can be cracked in 3.5 hours is not > >realistic. The three clues announced in the contest > >would not apply under infowar conditions. As I have shown above, Mr. Strassman's optimism is misplaced in the case of actual, fielded use of encryption on the Internet. It may apply to some classified systems, but they don't use exportable cryptography anyway. A covert inforwar against commercial and private targets is _quite_ plausible. > >What other clues may have been provided to Goldberg > >to support private agendas and gain shrill headlines > >is also a matter of speculation, but I rest my case. What exactly is he hinting at here? > >I certainly cannot assert that a 40 bit key cannot be decyphered. Of course he can't. 40 bits of RC4 encryption (as used in the exportable version of Netscape) was brute-forced not once, but three separate times in the fall of 1995, the fastest effort taking about 28 hours. Today it could be done much more quickly, as Ian demonstrated with RC5 (an algorithm of similar complexity). > >However, I do not think that the RSA unqualified claims > >offer full and appropriate disclosure. I disagree. The RSA challenges accurately model the use of encryption on the unclassified Internet. Ian's decryption of 40-bit RC5 is of considerable importance in demonstrating the insecurity of American citizens caused by Administration efforts to compromise exportable encryption. In my opinon, Mr. Strassman's assertions as to the strength of exportable encryption are too dangerous to be left unchallenged. > >Paul A. Strassmann > >55 Talmadge Hill Road, New Canaan, CT. 06840 > >Telephone: 203-966-5505; Fax: 203-966-5506 > >INTERNET: paul(a)strassmann.com > >WorldwideWeb: http://www.strassmann.com Peter Trei ptrei(a)acm.org Disclaimer: I am speaking as a knowlegable private citizen, not as a representative of my employer. This posting represents my opinon only.

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faulty moderation software: duplicate messages
by Attila T. Hun 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Virtually all list postings to the cypherpunks main list are doubled; the first, which is a standard pass through with the message ID of the sender, the second with the message ID of toad.com. Obviously, the first is destined for the unedited list --which did _not_ receive the message. The second has been re-IDd, which I presume is your censorhip mark. I happen to subscribe to all three lists, even though main + flames == unedited is supposedly the intention, it is not. In order to divide the output stream from toad.com, sorting on "Sender: " is the only reasonable differentation (when toad's filters are working): Sender: owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com Sender: owner-cypherpunks-flames(a)toad.com Sender: owner-cypherpunks-unedited(a)toad.com Sender: owner-coderpunks(a)toad.com in the case cited below, the only differentation between the destinations is that the censored message has a "Message-ID: " from toad.com, while the one intended for unedited has a "Message-ID: " not from toad.com. was either of these destinated from flames? --the main list with duplicated messages has contained any number of messages, including ones from the ASCII art series which should have gone to flames. so, why is the pass through message not being reliably re-headered at toad.com to mark "Sender: owner-cypherpunks-unedited(a)toad.com" --but if it is, why is unedited receiving a duplicate --obviously the duplicate should have gone to flames. BOTTOM LINE: your software is inadequate. my neighbors' kids write better filters than you have installed. +Received: from toad.com (toad.com [140.174.2.1]) + by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id EAA05103 + for <attila(a)primenet.com>; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 04:24:48 -0700 (MST) +Received: (from majordom@localhost) by toad.com (8.7.5/8.7.3) id +DAA20391; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 03:21:24 -0800 (PST) Received: from +hermes.ex.ac.uk (hermes.ex.ac.uk [194.83.11.25]) by toad.com +(8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id DAA20386; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 03:21:20 -0800 +(PST) Received: from aba(a)p28-dove-gui.tch.virgin.net [194.168.60.88] +by hermes via ESMTP (LAA22615); Fri, 7 Feb 1997 11:21:06 GMT Received: +(from aba@localhost) by server.test.net (8.6.12/8.6.12) id LAA00460; +Fri, 7 Feb 1997 11:15:30 GMT Date: Fri, 7 Feb 1997 11:15:30 GMT +Message-Id: <199702071115.LAA00460(a)server.test.net> +From: Adam Back <aba(a)dcs.ex.ac.uk> +To: mark(a)infolawalert.com +Cc: cypherpunks(a)toad.com, mclow(a)owl.csusm.edu +In-reply-to: <199702052256.OAA06322(a)toad.com> (message from Mark + Voorhees on Wed, 05 Feb 97 17:05:51 -0400) +Subject: Re: Deloitte-Touche? +Sender: owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com +Precedence: bulk +X-UIDL: 5456a9a45ccaf4617ae176a63b26efb4 +Received: from toad.com (toad.com [140.174.2.1]) + by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id JAA26045; + Fri, 7 Feb 1997 09:00:01 -0700 (MST) +Received: (from majordom@localhost) by toad.com (8.7.5/8.7.3) id +HAA24892; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 07:12:54 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: + <199702071512.HAA24892(a)toad.com> +Date: Fri, 7 Feb 1997 11:15:30 GMT +From: Adam Back <aba(a)dcs.ex.ac.uk> +To: mark(a)infolawalert.com +Cc: cypherpunks(a)toad.com, mclow(a)owl.csusm.edu +Subject: Re: Deloitte-Touche? +Sender: owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com +Precedence: bulk +X-UIDL: 83079c59aea2b28dc5ded2dc73c5219a -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: latin1 Comment: No safety this side of the grave. Never was; never will be iQCVAwUBMvtvF704kQrCC2kFAQEFAwP/RyyZswe9GznJt4TAEMPnhKcgA9pUsf+k mw+pDcjaJyUfKttoaVz0qRM2hIe33igoPtBDXWf5VD9r+Gz+gry6K+UK7rYCNNE9 MMdYHRV51hYuLKJAY4LNU6j5hoqf5q2Btt/m3F9SFQtD0ellsi4QH/vseJC1YNYh tq3TA+hny/U= =v3sl -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Metzger, Denninger square off
by Damaged Justice 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

[Forwarded from Wired news. Let's cut to the chase: Which side is in the right? Who can tell me, in plain and simple language, who is fighting for individual freedom and property rights, and who is not?] [LINK] Foes Vow to Take Domain Name Fight to FCC by Gene Koprowski 5:01 pm PST 6 Feb 97 - A proposal by the International Ad Hoc Committee (IAHC) to expand the number of Internet top-level domain names is stirring opposition among alternative domain name providers. Opponents call the plan "unenforceable," and are considering filing a protest with the Federal Communications Commission, indicating that the IAHC policy might violate the 1996 Telecommunication Act's open access provisions. "We didn't want to have to get my guns, rifles, and bombs out - but now we have to," Carl Denninger, president of Macro Computer Solutions, Chicago, a long-time opponent of IACH, tells Wired News. "If someone doesn't point a revolver at them, they will be able to do whatever they want to do." On Tuesday, the intergovernmental body issued a proposal to expand the number of generic top-level domains (GTLDs), adding seven new listings in addition to the existing ones, which include the familiar .com, .net, and .org. The new GTLDs would include .firm, for businesses; .store, for retail businesses; .web, for Web-related companies; .arts, for cultural organizations; .rec, for recreation and entertainment facilities; .info, for information services; and .nom, for individuals. Perry Metzger, a member of the IAHC board, said that the organization, whose members include the International Telecommunications Union and the World Intellectual Property Organization, will likely formally approval the proposal very quickly. "This is not a done deal. The paperwork needs to be signed. An association to handle this has to be set up," says Metzger. "But it will go forward very soon. I'm sure plenty of people will not be in favor of it. But the question is: What can they do to stop it?" The answer is plenty, says Denninger. He and others, like Eugene Kashpureff of Alternic, have long fought the IAHC's attempts to expand the number of GTLDs. They think the creation of these new categories may lead to trademark infringement and other intellectual property problems. They also think the new domain names will "fragment" the Internet, leaving some users unable to communicate with others, if a server does not recognize the name request. Denninger said he received a leaked copy of the IACH proposal earlier this week, and he and his colleagues are considering bringing their protests to the FCC. "We're given open access under the telecom law," says Denninger. "We might talk to the FCC or the Clinton administration about this." Barring that, Denninger will lobby Internet service providers around the country, asking them not to recognize the new GTLDs. "There is no reason to support it. We will do everything in our power to convince ISPs not to go along," he says. As part of that, he is launching a national public relations and lobbying campaign to alert the Internet community about the IACH proposal. [LINK] Copyright © 1993-97 Wired Ventures, Inc. and affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

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censorship and headers/example of ascii art which passed filters
by Attila T. Hun 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- the "message" example which follows is obviously a message which should have been destinated for owner-cypherpunks-flame. there is absolutely no indication of the differentation and the header shows: Sender: owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com when it should have shown: Sender: owner-cypherpunks-edited(a)toad.com let's put it this way, if cp is to be censored, might as well do the job correctly as this message was dumped into the main list. regardless, censoring what is supposed to be the free speech defenders of the online world is a poor example of our toleration for differing viewpoints, regardless of their alledged stupidity or off-topic value, or lack of value. So far, cypherpunks is showing less tolerance for freedom of speech that the United State Supreme Court. You all know something I dont? or do I need to start cleaning and oiling real soon? --attila +Received: from toad.com (toad.com [140.174.2.1]) + by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id FAA10780 + for <attila(a)primenet.com>; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 05:23:55 -0700 (MST) +Received: (from majordom@localhost) by toad.com (8.7.5/8.7.3) id +EAA21727; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 04:19:54 -0800 (PST) Received: from +sirius.infonex.com (root(a)sirius.infonex.com [206.170.114.2]) by +toad.com (8.7.5/8.7.3) with ESMTP id EAA21718; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 +04:19:47 -0800 (PST) Received: from mail.infonex.net +(dfbfl4-37.gate.net [199.227.103.228]) by sirius.infonex.com +(8.7.3/8.7.3) with SMTP id EAA26850 for cypherpunks(a)toad.com; Fri, 7 +Feb 1997 04:19:33 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: +<199702071219.EAA26850(a)sirius.infonex.com> Date: Friday, 07 Feb 97 +07:19:25 EST +To: cypherpunks(a)toad.com +From: winsock(a)rigel.cyberpass.net (WinSock Remailer) +X-Mailer: WinSock Remailer Version ALPHA1.3 +X-Comments: - +X-Comments: This message is NOT from winsock(a)rigel.cyberpass.net. It +was X-Comments: remailed by an automated anonymous remailer. +X-Comments: - +X-Comments: SEND ALL COMPLAINTS AND BLOCKING REQUESTS DIRECTLY TO: +X-Comments: REOP-L(a)cornell.edu <Remailer Operator's Network> +X-Comments: - +X-Comments: WinSock Remailer (winsock(a)rigel.cyberpass.net) +X-Comments: http://www.cyberpass.net/~winsock/ X-Comments: - +X-Remailer-Setup: Maximum Message Size -- None +X-Remailer-Setup: Reordering is ON, Mail Poolsize is 3 +X-Remailer-Setup: News Posting DISABLED +X-Remailer-Setup: Subject Header KILLED +X-Remailer-Setup: Logging OFF +X-Remailer-Setup: All messages must be PGP encrypted +Subject: Re: Sphere packings +Sender: owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com +Precedence: bulk +X-UIDL: e2bae6a70f8b97f156939d711ba124ba +Dickhead Vermin K[ondom]OTM has been a source of endless +embarassments to his sympathizers on and off the net. + _ O O _ + \-|-\_/-|-/ Dickhead Vermin K[ondom]OTM + /^\ /^\ + ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: latin1 Comment: No safety this side of the grave. Never was; never will be iQCVAwUBMvtzDL04kQrCC2kFAQF8UwQAi2uqgh2IX8zy9BgXmuBK5hI0yza9XeJ1 +o/aa6KXnKA5+aBuFF5VFufijsJgMQ+2TI+OVi1oPy9OpWofZ1mHzzzNDndypfv6 Bnb05Yrz3ikJXitr7zs26+f8ImeC++5hrkNanPUVBuwa09l2NMYjvGRf+980XLIA 3TIkjAlpcrk= =1Izr -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Project 25 Radio
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The National Communications Systems published in the Federal Register of February 6, a notice of FTR1024 covering Land Mobile Radio, Project 25. The recommentation specifies encryption: DES (Type 3) and Type 1 for classified use. The specifications are based on seven public TIA documents and one classified NSA document. "This recommendation is intended to facilitate interoperability among telecommunication facilities and systems of the Federal Government." The official document is available in PDF format at: http://members.aol.com/Project25/1024.pdf We've prepared a hypertext version: http://jya.com/ftr1024.htm

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No Subject
by nobody＠huge.cajones.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Date: Fri, 07 Feb 1997 07:13:18 -0800 From: Dale Thorn <dthorn(a)gte.net> :When I was in the Perot camp Gotta be Dale! A measure of my health; I admit preferring the invective of Tim and Dr. V. to this purile nonsense. Pablum for the c'punk masses. Ciao

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[IMPORTANT] Zero-knowledge interactive proofs
by nobody＠huge.cajones.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Many forgeries are traceable with mathematical certainty to feebleminded Timmy C. May's poison keyboard. .oooO Oooo. ( ) _ _ ( ) \ ( / ) ( \ ) / ----\_)-/ (---) \-(_/---- ( ) ( ) oooO Oooo

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Re: My messages not appearing on either of the lists?
by Mike Duvos 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Tim May writes: > My posting seem to be going into Limbo, being sent neither to the > Cypherpunks Heaven Sandy administers nor to the flames of the Cypherpunks > Hell. At least this is how things now appear. > I sent the message below to the list this morning (Thursday) at 8:43 a.m. > PST. As of tonight, 12 hours later, I haven't seen it on either the > Singapore Web site--last archived 30 minutes ago--or on the "Flames" list > to which I have temporarily subscribed (to see what Sandy counts as a > "flame"). Now that a few weeks have passed, I have decided that moderation delays are the most annoying feature of the new experiment. I am subscribed to the unedited list under another account, and its almost instantaneous traffic is in great contrast to the time required for posts to trickle through the Sandfort-Bot. > By the way, I noted that many of the messages which appeared at the > Singapore Web archive site have dates much later than mine, including > several dated at least 8-10 hours after my message. Likewise, some of the > Flames messages are dated much later than my message. Messages apparently do not get moderated in the order in which they are received. Some messages take a very long time, as other later messages pass them by and are posted to the list. Again, I have no explanation for this unusual behavior. -- Mike Duvos $ PGP 2.6 Public Key available $ mpd(a)netcom.com $ via Finger. $

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Cool Names, Lost in Flames
by Otto Matic 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Some time ago Human Gus-Peter wrote something that went like this: > I still think that you should just let your kids run your machine or > just pick the guy with the coolest name, like Attila the Hun or > Genocide or OttOmatic. Thanks, Human Gus-peter. I think my name is cool also. I am only suscribeed to the flames list, because my uncle (a secret guy) reads the CENSORED list. This way we can see what the other secret guys are up to, and what kind of KewL StUfF they throw into the Flames Trashcan. Human Gus-peter, I think you should be very careful. They throw everything you write into the trash. That could mean they are watching you. That could be VERY bad for you. We will see where this message goes. otto =-=-=-=-=- Otto Matic "Fuckin' A, Miller!" Bud, Repo Man --------------------------------------------------------- Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------

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Re: 40-bit RC5 crack meaningless??
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Paul Strassmann served on the "Information Warefare - Defense" Task Force sponsored by the Defense Science Board. He has a Web site at: http://www.strassmann.com The IW-D report recounts most of the well-known info-war memes to buttress its plea for more info-warfighting funds, and says that business needs DoD protection. It de-emphasizes the encryption debate, claiming that crypto is not an important part of the problem or the solution. Remailers are not mentioned. Short and long versions of IW-D: http://jya.com/iwd.htm Winn Schwartau's infowar.com offers it too. SAIC was generously represented on the Task Force: Strassmann, Bellcore's head, a couple more. As well as others committed to "raising the bar" against attack on Info-Maginot: http://jya.com/iwdaff.htm

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Re: Waiting for Mac version [was Re: Full strength Email Clients]
by Lucky Green 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 11:19 PM 2/6/97 -0800, Steve Schear wrote: >>-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- >> >>At 06:51 PM 2/6/97 +0800, pclow wrote: >>><You want Eudora 3.0 and PGPMail 4.5. [Despite PGP,Inc's best efforts, >>>the >>><brand new PGPMail has escaped from the United States and is now >>>available >>><worldwide.] > >Its too bad there isn't a Mac version contemplated. They appear to think >that existing PGP versions, paired with Eudora, are sufficient. >From their FAQ: 9.What is the status of the Macintosh product? ViaCrypt PGP 2.7.1 is available for the Macintosh today. We are working on a new version for the Macintosh, adding new features and revising the graphical user interface to make it easier to use. The revised Macintosh version will follow the Windows release. -- Lucky Green <mailto:shamrock@netcom.com> PGP encrypted mail preferred "I do believe that where there is a choice only between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence." Mahatma Gandhi

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Appointment Verification
by linda wilson 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Suck_My_Big_Juicy_Cock, We would like to ask for your help with a survey for a service bureau we are considering developing software for in voice communications. This software will be used to remind patients of their upcoming appointments, allow them to confirm or reschedule. After confirming which patients will not be able to make their appointment the system will contact all individuals that are on a waiting list to schedule them for open time slots..... For assisting us we will mail you a FREE certificate for 100 rolls of Kodak film and a 35 mm camera. NO ONE WIll CALL YOU! 1. Do you feel doctors would use a service which calls patients for them using a personalized Voice system reminding them of their appointments? ____yes ____NO 2. How important do you feel it is to doctors to eliminate the drudgery of staff calling patients reminding them of appointments. not important ______ somewhat important ______ Very important ______ 3. What's do you feel would be a fair price or doctors would be willing to pay for such a service? 100-$200 per month _____ 200-$300 per month _____ 300- $400 per month _____ Other ____________ Please email your answers to advance(a)ns.net If you have any suggestions on any additional automated voice service you would like to see someone develop please let us know. Thanks again for your participation.

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Re: Which list am I on?
by Attila T. Hun 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- antimod (nym): no way to tell what list your receiving from; the software Sandy and John installed to facilitate their un-American activities is hosed. in most cases it fails to apply the correct sender name, defaulting to the main, supposedly censored list. -attila on or about 970207:0930 Against Moderation <antimod(a)nym.alias.net> said: +I thought I was on the cypherpunks edited list. However, I appear to +have seen some of the messages that Tim says got lost. Moreover, I +keep getting ASCII art messages flaming someone with the initials DLV +(though I haven't seen any more of the TCM flames [I haven't looked too +hard, either]). My mail headers have: +>From cypherpunks-errors(a)toad.com <date> +>Sender: owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com +Now I'm really confused. Which list am I on? -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: latin1 Comment: No safety this side of the grave. Never was; never will be iQCVAwUBMvt0Tb04kQrCC2kFAQHU3wP+IJE5n2Ypp6WLgxIHX1u0YfFah6fNP+Pz UmToaW0C+mVZLM9S7VpBjwhiyqFCWWpZMbrqAnpkU9/yGCnHnhfjZ1P8I9SZZc0n FmcomIS5BwcDC+Zd+5t4YeOOhqHZPDlqKMsZ/UuKfOeQainfedlvTmNJI2fIqTsy t9jLSuDKWEE= =s+Wc -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: WANTED: Tolerant, anonymity-friendly news admins
by lcs Remailer Administrator 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

aga <aga(a)dhp.com> writes: > Who attacked the network and for what reason? Well, as best I can tell I've gotten caught in the crossfire of a spam/"anti-spam" spam war. People are forging articles through anonymous remailers to solicit spam to non-spamming customers of "spam-friendly" ISPs, in the hopes of driving those customers away. In other words, a lot of articles are being posted to groups like alt.make.money.fast with headers like: From: customer(a)isp.under.attack (My^ISP^spams^I^should^switch) Then the spam bots collect the addresses, and send lots of mail like To: customer(a)isp.under.attack (My^ISP^spams^I^should^switch) Subject: Great opportunity!!! My^ISP^spams^I^should^switch, I saw your post the other day, and have an oportunity for you that's so good you can't miss it... It would be amusing if it weren't causing me hassles. Ultimately, however, the person doing this is clearly trying to get ISPs to set more restrictive policies about what mail/news customers can send, while knocking off a few anonymous remailers and mail2news gateways in the process. > Well, just who is cutting you off and for what reason? > And what is their telephone number? At issue here are a number of complicated high-level administrative issues. It's not just that someone is trying to pull the plug on me. I've been asked by someone who is not the one getting the phone calls or exerting anti-mail2news pressure if I would stop using MIT news servers. The reason is that that person needs to maintain good relations with the people who are being harassed over the fogery. I don't really want to go into details. The point is that this situation is a lot more subtle than whether the pro-mail2news people can "out-harrass" the people complaining about forgeries. Therefore, I would sincerely appreciate it if you did not try to make any phone calls or do anything to use up any more of these people's time. I fully intend to keep mail2news running, and am just trying to get more news servers (after having lost one) to maintain reliability and strengthen my position. > Just what is your definition of "abuse?" This got answered in a separate message.

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censorship and headers/example of ascii art which passed filters
by Attila T. Hun 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- the "message" example which follows is obviously a message which should have been destinated for owner-cypherpunks-flame. there is absolutely no indication of the differentation and the header shows: Sender: owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com when it should have shown: Sender: owner-cypherpunks-edited(a)toad.com let's put it this way, if cp is to be censored, might as well do the job correctly as this message was dumped into the main list. regardless, censoring what is supposed to be the free speech defenders of the online world is a poor example of our toleration for differing viewpoints, regardless of their alledged stupidity or off-topic value, or lack of value. So far, cypherpunks is showing less tolerance for freedom of speech that the United State Supreme Court. You all know something I dont? or do I need to start cleaning and oiling real soon? --attila +Received: from toad.com (toad.com [140.174.2.1]) + by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id FAA10780 + for <attila(a)primenet.com>; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 05:23:55 -0700 (MST) +Received: (from majordom@localhost) by toad.com (8.7.5/8.7.3) id +EAA21727; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 04:19:54 -0800 (PST) Received: from +sirius.infonex.com (root(a)sirius.infonex.com [206.170.114.2]) by +toad.com (8.7.5/8.7.3) with ESMTP id EAA21718; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 +04:19:47 -0800 (PST) Received: from mail.infonex.net +(dfbfl4-37.gate.net [199.227.103.228]) by sirius.infonex.com +(8.7.3/8.7.3) with SMTP id EAA26850 for cypherpunks(a)toad.com; Fri, 7 +Feb 1997 04:19:33 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: +<199702071219.EAA26850(a)sirius.infonex.com> Date: Friday, 07 Feb 97 +07:19:25 EST +To: cypherpunks(a)toad.com +From: winsock(a)rigel.cyberpass.net (WinSock Remailer) +X-Mailer: WinSock Remailer Version ALPHA1.3 +X-Comments: - +X-Comments: This message is NOT from winsock(a)rigel.cyberpass.net. It +was X-Comments: remailed by an automated anonymous remailer. +X-Comments: - +X-Comments: SEND ALL COMPLAINTS AND BLOCKING REQUESTS DIRECTLY TO: +X-Comments: REOP-L(a)cornell.edu <Remailer Operator's Network> +X-Comments: - +X-Comments: WinSock Remailer (winsock(a)rigel.cyberpass.net) +X-Comments: http://www.cyberpass.net/~winsock/ X-Comments: - +X-Remailer-Setup: Maximum Message Size -- None +X-Remailer-Setup: Reordering is ON, Mail Poolsize is 3 +X-Remailer-Setup: News Posting DISABLED +X-Remailer-Setup: Subject Header KILLED +X-Remailer-Setup: Logging OFF +X-Remailer-Setup: All messages must be PGP encrypted +Subject: Re: Sphere packings +Sender: owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com +Precedence: bulk +X-UIDL: e2bae6a70f8b97f156939d711ba124ba +Dickhead Vermin K[ondom]OTM has been a source of endless +embarassments to his sympathizers on and off the net. + _ O O _ + \-|-\_/-|-/ Dickhead Vermin K[ondom]OTM + /^\ /^\ + ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: latin1 Comment: No safety this side of the grave. Never was; never will be iQCVAwUBMvtzDL04kQrCC2kFAQF8UwQAi2uqgh2IX8zy9BgXmuBK5hI0yza9XeJ1 +o/aa6KXnKA5+aBuFF5VFufijsJgMQ+2TI+OVi1oPy9OpWofZ1mHzzzNDndypfv6 Bnb05Yrz3ikJXitr7zs26+f8ImeC++5hrkNanPUVBuwa09l2NMYjvGRf+980XLIA 3TIkjAlpcrk= =1Izr -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Metzger, Denninger square off
by Damaged Justice 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

[Forwarded from Wired news. Let's cut to the chase: Which side is in the right? Who can tell me, in plain and simple language, who is fighting for individual freedom and property rights, and who is not?] [LINK] Foes Vow to Take Domain Name Fight to FCC by Gene Koprowski 5:01 pm PST 6 Feb 97 - A proposal by the International Ad Hoc Committee (IAHC) to expand the number of Internet top-level domain names is stirring opposition among alternative domain name providers. Opponents call the plan "unenforceable," and are considering filing a protest with the Federal Communications Commission, indicating that the IAHC policy might violate the 1996 Telecommunication Act's open access provisions. "We didn't want to have to get my guns, rifles, and bombs out - but now we have to," Carl Denninger, president of Macro Computer Solutions, Chicago, a long-time opponent of IACH, tells Wired News. "If someone doesn't point a revolver at them, they will be able to do whatever they want to do." On Tuesday, the intergovernmental body issued a proposal to expand the number of generic top-level domains (GTLDs), adding seven new listings in addition to the existing ones, which include the familiar .com, .net, and .org. The new GTLDs would include .firm, for businesses; .store, for retail businesses; .web, for Web-related companies; .arts, for cultural organizations; .rec, for recreation and entertainment facilities; .info, for information services; and .nom, for individuals. Perry Metzger, a member of the IAHC board, said that the organization, whose members include the International Telecommunications Union and the World Intellectual Property Organization, will likely formally approval the proposal very quickly. "This is not a done deal. The paperwork needs to be signed. An association to handle this has to be set up," says Metzger. "But it will go forward very soon. I'm sure plenty of people will not be in favor of it. But the question is: What can they do to stop it?" The answer is plenty, says Denninger. He and others, like Eugene Kashpureff of Alternic, have long fought the IAHC's attempts to expand the number of GTLDs. They think the creation of these new categories may lead to trademark infringement and other intellectual property problems. They also think the new domain names will "fragment" the Internet, leaving some users unable to communicate with others, if a server does not recognize the name request. Denninger said he received a leaked copy of the IACH proposal earlier this week, and he and his colleagues are considering bringing their protests to the FCC. "We're given open access under the telecom law," says Denninger. "We might talk to the FCC or the Clinton administration about this." Barring that, Denninger will lobby Internet service providers around the country, asking them not to recognize the new GTLDs. "There is no reason to support it. We will do everything in our power to convince ISPs not to go along," he says. As part of that, he is launching a national public relations and lobbying campaign to alert the Internet community about the IACH proposal. [LINK] Copyright ) 1993-97 Wired Ventures, Inc. and affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

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faulty moderation software: duplicate messages
by Attila T. Hun 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Virtually all list postings to the cypherpunks main list are doubled; the first, which is a standard pass through with the message ID of the sender, the second with the message ID of toad.com. Obviously, the first is destined for the unedited list --which did _not_ receive the message. The second has been re-IDd, which I presume is your censorhip mark. I happen to subscribe to all three lists, even though main + flames == unedited is supposedly the intention, it is not. In order to divide the output stream from toad.com, sorting on "Sender: " is the only reasonable differentation (when toad's filters are working): Sender: owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com Sender: owner-cypherpunks-flames(a)toad.com Sender: owner-cypherpunks-unedited(a)toad.com Sender: owner-coderpunks(a)toad.com in the case cited below, the only differentation between the destinations is that the censored message has a "Message-ID: " from toad.com, while the one intended for unedited has a "Message-ID: " not from toad.com. was either of these destinated from flames? --the main list with duplicated messages has contained any number of messages, including ones from the ASCII art series which should have gone to flames. so, why is the pass through message not being reliably re-headered at toad.com to mark "Sender: owner-cypherpunks-unedited(a)toad.com" --but if it is, why is unedited receiving a duplicate --obviously the duplicate should have gone to flames. BOTTOM LINE: your software is inadequate. my neighbors' kids write better filters than you have installed. +Received: from toad.com (toad.com [140.174.2.1]) + by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id EAA05103 + for <attila(a)primenet.com>; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 04:24:48 -0700 (MST) +Received: (from majordom@localhost) by toad.com (8.7.5/8.7.3) id +DAA20391; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 03:21:24 -0800 (PST) Received: from +hermes.ex.ac.uk (hermes.ex.ac.uk [194.83.11.25]) by toad.com +(8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id DAA20386; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 03:21:20 -0800 +(PST) Received: from aba(a)p28-dove-gui.tch.virgin.net [194.168.60.88] +by hermes via ESMTP (LAA22615); Fri, 7 Feb 1997 11:21:06 GMT Received: +(from aba@localhost) by server.test.net (8.6.12/8.6.12) id LAA00460; +Fri, 7 Feb 1997 11:15:30 GMT Date: Fri, 7 Feb 1997 11:15:30 GMT +Message-Id: <199702071115.LAA00460(a)server.test.net> +From: Adam Back <aba(a)dcs.ex.ac.uk> +To: mark(a)infolawalert.com +Cc: cypherpunks(a)toad.com, mclow(a)owl.csusm.edu +In-reply-to: <199702052256.OAA06322(a)toad.com> (message from Mark + Voorhees on Wed, 05 Feb 97 17:05:51 -0400) +Subject: Re: Deloitte-Touche? +Sender: owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com +Precedence: bulk +X-UIDL: 5456a9a45ccaf4617ae176a63b26efb4 +Received: from toad.com (toad.com [140.174.2.1]) + by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id JAA26045; + Fri, 7 Feb 1997 09:00:01 -0700 (MST) +Received: (from majordom@localhost) by toad.com (8.7.5/8.7.3) id +HAA24892; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 07:12:54 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: + <199702071512.HAA24892(a)toad.com> +Date: Fri, 7 Feb 1997 11:15:30 GMT +From: Adam Back <aba(a)dcs.ex.ac.uk> +To: mark(a)infolawalert.com +Cc: cypherpunks(a)toad.com, mclow(a)owl.csusm.edu +Subject: Re: Deloitte-Touche? +Sender: owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com +Precedence: bulk +X-UIDL: 83079c59aea2b28dc5ded2dc73c5219a -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: latin1 Comment: No safety this side of the grave. Never was; never will be iQCVAwUBMvtvF704kQrCC2kFAQEFAwP/RyyZswe9GznJt4TAEMPnhKcgA9pUsf+k mw+pDcjaJyUfKttoaVz0qRM2hIe33igoPtBDXWf5VD9r+Gz+gry6K+UK7rYCNNE9 MMdYHRV51hYuLKJAY4LNU6j5hoqf5q2Btt/m3F9SFQtD0ellsi4QH/vseJC1YNYh tq3TA+hny/U= =v3sl -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: 40-bit RC5 crack meaningless?
by Peter Trei 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Subject: Re: 40-bit RC5 crack meaningless?? From: Peter Trei <ptrei(a)acm.org> > Subject: 40-bit RC5 crack meaningless?? Mr. Strassman allegedly sent the quoted letter to Winn Schwartaus' "infowar" mailing list, and it was then posted by persons unknown to the sci.crypt usenet group. Identity on the internet being the fluid thing it is, I apologize in advance if he never sent this letter, or if it has been modified before it reached me. The quoted letter attempts to minimize the importance of Ian Goldberg's recent bruteforce decryption of export-strength RC5 encryption. In my opinon, as described below, Mr. Strassman's arguments are without merit when applied to the situation the RSA challenges are intended to model - the security of encrypted Internet protocols. As such, I feel that his letter may lull some people into an unjustified and dangerous sense of security. > >Date: Thu, 30 Jan 1997 20:10:36 -0500 > >From: "Paul A. Strassmann" <paul(a)strassmann.com> > >Subject: Further to Goldberg's Cracking Accomplishments > >Gentlemen: > > > >As I suspected (see earlier private comment), the > >highly promoted RSA cracking contest offered > >a number of clues that ordinarly would not be > >volunteered by info-terrorists or info-criminals to > >IW Defense teams. > >These clues made the cracking significantly easier, > >because it made it possible to eliminate an enormous > >range of possible searches. What's the target, and who is doing the encrypting? These "clues" _are_ available to adversaries engaged in industrial and economic espionage; a important part of a covert infowar. It's certainly true that "info-terrorists or info-criminals" will not be so easy to tap, but the absence of these 'clues' is a red herring. They will be secure because they will use good encryption, which is not what US firms can export today. The challenges are realistic models of encrypted Internet protocols, for example IPSEC with ESP data encryption. As such, they accurately display the vulnerability of data on the Internet to espionage. > >The following was extracted verbatim from the > ><The RSA Data Security Secret-Key Challenge> > >posted on <http://www.rsa.com/rsalabs/97challenge/>: > > > >Clue #1: > > > > " ...all the RC5 contests posted as part of the RSA Secret-Key Challenge > >will use 12-round RC5 with a 32-bit word size. " > > > >Clue #2: > > > > " ...The first RC5 contest will consist of some unknown plaintext > >encrypted using a 40-bit key;." Clues #1 and #2 are absolutely reasonable - in an open standard, it is absolutely normal to know the cipher being used, it's mode, and the length of the key. See the SSL specification, or IPSEC's RFCs. > >Clue #3: (a giveway!) > > > > " ... For each contest, the unknown plaintext message is preceded by three > > known blocks of text that contain the 24-character phrase "The > > unknown message is: .....". To those who are unfamiliar with Internet protocols, this would appear to give the cryptanalyst an unrealistic head-start. This is not the case. Most Internet protocols have highly stereotyped packet headers; for example, _every_ normal return packet from a web server starts out with the string "HTTP/1.0" (servers using something other than version 1.0 are rare as hen's teeth at the moment). When you consider that such a packet may contain a firm's confidential earnings predictions or trade secrets (hopefully encrypted), the economic importance of such data is clear. Similar stereotyped headers exist for many other protocols, such as NNTP and SMTP. As such, a known-plaintext attack, as modeled by RSADSI's symmetric key challange, is quite realistic. Even if a full known plaintext for the first block is unavailable, a knowlegable cryptanalyst can usually make some very reasonable assumptions which will greatly speed his or her task. (I'm assuming DES here - which has a 64 bit block, but the argument extends easily to other block sizes). For example, if we know that the data contains only printable ASCII characters (true for the headers of most Internet protocols), then for a 64 bit block, there are 8 bits which we _know_ will be zero in the decrypted block. This lets us dispose of 255 out of every 256 incorrect trial decryptions immediately, and we will have to perform more extensive tests on less then 0.4% of candidate keys. Similar intelligent guesses can be made about the headers of other protocols, for example IPSEC-secured IPv6 packet headers in tunneling mode. Some people have noted that the challenges include the IV, or 'initialization vector' used in CBC (cipher-block-chaining) modes of encryption, and argue that this would not be available to an adversary. Once again, this assertion falls when examined in the light of actual usage. The purpose of an IV is to make dictionary and replay attacks more difficult. It is not intended to prevent brute force attacks, and so is _normally_ included in the clear in communications protocols (for example, see RFC 1827 for it's clear transmission in IPSEC). If it is not included, it is effectively part of the keying material, and thus adds it's bits to the strength of the key. As such, its value would have to be transmitted and protected as carefully as the rest of the key. > >In summary: The claim of exportable cryptography being totally > >insecure, because it can be cracked in 3.5 hours is not > >realistic. The three clues announced in the contest > >would not apply under infowar conditions. As I have shown above, Mr. Strassman's optimism is misplaced in the case of actual, fielded use of encryption on the Internet. It may apply to some classified systems, but they don't use exportable cryptography anyway. A covert inforwar against commercial and private targets is _quite_ plausible. > >What other clues may have been provided to Goldberg > >to support private agendas and gain shrill headlines > >is also a matter of speculation, but I rest my case. What exactly is he hinting at here? > >I certainly cannot assert that a 40 bit key cannot be decyphered. Of course he can't. 40 bits of RC4 encryption (as used in the exportable version of Netscape) was brute-forced not once, but three separate times in the fall of 1995, the fastest effort taking about 28 hours. Today it could be done much more quickly, as Ian demonstrated with RC5 (an algorithm of similar complexity). > >However, I do not think that the RSA unqualified claims > >offer full and appropriate disclosure. I disagree. The RSA challenges accurately model the use of encryption on the unclassified Internet. Ian's decryption of 40-bit RC5 is of considerable importance in demonstrating the insecurity of American citizens caused by Administration efforts to compromise exportable encryption. In my opinon, Mr. Strassman's assertions as to the strength of exportable encryption are too dangerous to be left unchallenged. > >Paul A. Strassmann > >55 Talmadge Hill Road, New Canaan, CT. 06840 > >Telephone: 203-966-5505; Fax: 203-966-5506 > >INTERNET: paul(a)strassmann.com > >WorldwideWeb: http://www.strassmann.com Peter Trei ptrei(a)acm.org Disclaimer: I am speaking as a knowlegable private citizen, not as a representative of my employer. This posting represents my opinon only.

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Re: Waiting for Mac version [was Re: Full strength Email Clients]
by Timothy N. Hill 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- At 02:19 -0500 97-02-07, Steve Schear wrote: >>... PGPMail 4.5 ... > >Its too bad there isn't a Mac version contemplated. They appear to think >that existing PGP versions, paired with Eudora, are sufficient. I think a >better integrated approach for the Mac would be appreciated as the >available AppleScripts are buggy and awkward. I agree completely about the need. PGP, Inc., does claim to be working on a Mac version, but their promises are beginning to sound a little hollow. They now promise a "1997 release of PGPmail for the Macintosh" and "more specific information on when PGPmail will be available on the Macintosh" "during the second half of February." I bought ViaCrypt PGP for Macintosh 2.7.1 in October. (2.7.1 is nearly identical to the free 2.6.2, with the same abysmal user interface that earned a rare one-star rating from Macworld <http://www.macworld.com/pages/star/starratings.Utilities.html>, but 2.7.1 is licensed for commercial use.) At the time, PGP Inc. promised a free upgrade to version 4.0 for Mac, which was already considerably overdue. (According to <http://www.pgp.com/products/viacrypt-tbr.cgi>, 4.0 is still "To Be Released Soon.") When PGP, Inc., announced PGPmail 4.5 in December <http://www.pgp.com/newsroom/prel8.cgi>, they wrote "PGPmail 4.5 ... supports ... Mac OS." I called and asked if this implied they were bypassing 4.0 for Mac and when 4.5 would be available for Mac. The support person didn't know, said she'd find out and call me back, and never called back. A few days ago, I received this via US mail: >PRETTY GOOD PRIVACY, INC. > >Wednesday, January 22, 1997 > >Dear Valued Customer: > >Thank you for being patient regarding your order for an updated version >of PGP for the Macintosh. The last year has involved many changes for >our company. As a customer, we know the changes have caused delays in >the product you expected sooner. I would like to explain recent events >and extend a special offer in appreciation of your business. > >First, an explanation of recent events. As you may already know, Pretty >Good Privacy, Inc. purchased Lemcom Systems and its wholly owned >subsidiary, ViaCrypt, last year. ViaCrypt had previously announced >ViaCrypt PGP 4.0 for the Macintosh. Pretty Good Privacy is fully >committed to the Macintosh platform, and we have plans to release a >rich set of products for the Macintosh in 1997. We have already doubled >the size of our Macintosh group with engineers who have extensive Apple >experience. > >We are currently working on a new version of PGPmail designed >specifically for the Macintosh, adding new features and revising the >graphical user interface, making it significantly easier to use. > >After much serious consideration, we decided to dedicate the Macintosh >PGPmail team to deliver this new product as quickly as possible, and to >cancel the port of ViaCrypt PGP 4.0 to the Macintosh. We apologize for >any inconvenience this delay may have caused, but we believe that you >will agree that the new version of PGPmail designed specifically for >the Macintosh will meet your needs better than a port from the Windows >platform. > >In recognition of the delay, we would like to offer you the forthcoming >1997 release of PGPmail for the Macintosh free of charge. We hope you >will take advantage of this special offer. When ordering, please >indicate the following code #0811 to process your order, so please >retain this letter. Please check the PGPmail section of our website at >http://www.pgp.com/products/PGPmail-faq.cgi during the second half of >February with more specific information on when PGPmail will be >available on the Macintosh. > >Please accept our sincere apologies for the delay. If you have any >questions, please contact us at fyi(a)pgp.com. > >Sincerely, > >Tom Steding >President & CEO >Pretty Good Privacy, Inc. We shall see. Meanwhile, a beta version of "Pretty Safe Mail" <http://www.highware.com/highware/PSM/safemail.htm> is available from Highware in Belgium. It's PGP compatible, and its user interface is a great leap forward from any Mac PGP front end I've seen. But, it still has some deficiencies, it's very slow (25 seconds to sign this message on a 25 MHz 68040 vs. 4 seconds for ViaCrypt PGP 2.7.1), and (as was recently discussed on a couple of these lists) its source code hasn't been published or externally audited. - Tim -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.7.1 iQCVAwUBMvtiAi62DQeAyFc9AQG5tAQAigsa5/Ygb9PqHHLA/QD+HSpBWFRpRjGW bWfg8Zq0PCi5AyMPAwYagxYo5/m4Sm3OA6u2urq5IDzxVaYOGFIgKGRxaFgWivFN dYfwFRR9WO7NkoigKsOc3ZHAK2UPPWYsFkjbVkbINyke5NmFkwEI0/oPguoMWdXH WMpnOGDut5Q= =kWrX -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- Timothy N. Hill <tnh(a)acm.org> "We all love to instruct, Wellesley, Massachusetts though we can teach only <http://www.ma.ultranet.com/~tnh/> what is not worth knowing." PGP F058F75D 99C5122F 21C5BEF5 620C1D3C - Elizabeth Bennet

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