December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: [PGP-USERS] New International Version (fwd)
by 3umoelle＠informatik.uni-hamburg.de 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message from Lutz Donnerhacke <lutz(a)iks-jena.de>: On Tue, Apr 08, 1997 at 02:00:02AM +0200, Ulf Möller wrote: > > The subject is somewhat misleading. PGP 2.6.3in is a derivative of > > PGP 2.6.3i, modified as to comply with the policy of the certification > > authority run by Individual Network e.V. (IN e.V.). Specificially, it > > differentiates between signature and encryption keys, and implements > > key expiry dates. > > PGP4.5 does both of these things. I wonder if their modifications are > compatible with PGP Incs newer version. > > It would be a pity for the versions to get out of sync and cause > compatibility problems. If PGP4.5 follows the PGFormat.Doc specifications, there will be no problem despite ENCR/SIGN, which is not covered by the PGFormat.Doc.

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Denning paper on crypto, EU mandatory GAK
by Greg Broiles 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Apologies if this has been mentioned before, but I ran across a new (new to me; it's dated 2/19/97) paper by Dorothy Denning re crypto and crypto policy/legislation. Historically, her work has proven to precede/predict policy shifts on the part of the US government. The paper has little information which is new to a reader of cpunks; but I did note one ominous paragraph referring to the role of "TTPs" in Europe: >>>> The European Commission has been preparing a proposal to establish a European-wide network of Trusted Third Parties (ETS) that would be accredited to offer services that support digital signatures, notarization, confidentiality, and data integrity. The trust centers, which would operate under the control of member nations, would <<<< ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >>>> hold keys that would enable them to assist the owners of data with emergency decryption or supply keys to their national authorities on production of a legal <<<< ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >>>> warrant. The proposal is expected to be adopted by the Commission, with discussions provisionally scheduled in the Council of the European Union for the first half of 1997 [22] <<<< Also see <http://www.seven77.demon.co.uk/krisis/>, which appears to be the home page for a pilot project creating a software and political/corporate infrastructure for Europe-wide GAK. Yow. Also of interest is her cite <http://guru.cosc.georgetown.edu/~denning/crypto/Trends.html#29> to John Young's archived version of the 12/30/96 revision of the EARs instead of the BXA's. The paper itself is at <http://guru.cosc.georgetown.edu/~denning/crypto/Trends.html>; like it or not, it may prove to be a useful insight into what's coming in 1997/1998. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 4.5 iQEVAgUBM0oWVP37pMWUJFlhAQEClgf/WIIWSILMpyM47o1LU83cS78V7OHuSpJM WsSrajoKX4TxbH/+Dwcwjf/s8IFI41+rj9VcL+pucXN+HarztYJpT6MX80ULI6sa EvmpXZ2gfKBisvHs9co2CRvSHwTip03sJvciGxilk0V70jNPaSZfRPb+22wsQerl his86IqSUt1OQFkXLmiOCak0z1jT6D25AoVCc+M0EoKfE7KwmOdoiFxhrAw1/HqZ 09H98nB55fS207zBsKW6b0u2zQfA9pTHeNfRn7V1PHnqaO4iprGy4SDMvbh/4t87 1wznAc25Un1QwTPTAjQypS7vS+qlMGRUPIO2uwzCi6HuK84c2Tf9Cw== =qR1F -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- Greg Broiles | US crypto export control policy in a nutshell: gbroiles(a)netbox.com | http://www.io.com/~gbroiles | Export jobs, not crypto. |

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U.S.S. Liberty
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Timothy Maypole digs into his cesspool of a mind for his mailing list fertilizer. _ o |<)_/# Timothy Maypole TT <T

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Re: Adam Back speaks out on AP / was: Jim Bell? Never heard of him.
by lucifer＠dhp.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Adam Back wrote: > Anonymous writes: > There is a cost with > anonymity: people take you less seriously, none of your reputation is > on the line. Anonmous persistent personas might be better as they > allow reputation to be tracked. True, if your concern is to be listened to by those concerned about reputation. If your aim is for your post to stand upon its own facts and logic, however, then a 0-reputation persona may be preferable. There were a series of "Jim Bell is a loon." postings which I found to be uninformative in regard to the points they seemed to want to ramrod past the readers by virtue of discounting the message via slamming the messenger. > > So the end result might well be, not the assassination of those > > involved, but the lessening of their power by virtue of depleting > > their funds, which leads to a more equal playing field. > > I'm not sure this follows. > > If a corporate can use it's wealth to influence other groups, for > example by assasinating key employees of opposition company, it may > well get richer as a result. I see the value of AP not in the assassination of others, but in the potential for a wide-ranging group of individuals to drain the assets of their oppressors. Large grocery chains have a history of moving into an area, then undercutting the little guys until they are forced out of business, whereupon they raise their prices outrageously, unfettered by competition. AP might well serve as an avenue for the little guys to band together to target these operations and remove the profitability of this mode of monopolistic attack. The TruthMonger multi-user persona might well serve as a similar example of raising the cost of doing "character assassination" business. I might well be Jim Bell, himself. However, rather than saying, "Jim Bell is a loon, so we can discount all of TruthMonger's arguments.", one is forced to deal with the validity of the arguments, facts, and logic in the posts. Certainly a persona with built-up reputation capital can be an asset in many situations, but there is also a time when anonymous communications can serve as a conduit for weaning out those enamored with personality issues, and who lack the discernment to judge the true content and logic underlying a message. TruthMonger

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Re: your mail
by dlv＠bwalk.dm.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

mpd(a)netcom.com (Mike Duvos) writes: > Graham-John writes: > > > On Mon, 7 Apr 1997, Mix wrote: > > > I think Vulis needs each of us to send ten copies of this back to him. > > [Silly Timmy May insult deleted] > > You do realize you are doubling the amount of noise by responding to > each and every one of these posts, don't you? Perhaps he doesn't. A prefrontal lobotomy does that to people. --- Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps

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Re: Anti-Spambot: what algorithm should be used?
by dlv＠bwalk.dm.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

ichudov(a)algebra.com (Igor Chudov @ home) writes: > Hi, > > As we all know, there exist certain programs, called "spambots", whose > task is to post various messages to many newsgroups simultaneously. > > Besides their posting functionality, certain spambot programs take > special care to make their spams undetectable by anti-spambots. In > particular, they can be programmed to modify certain fields or the > message text itself in such a way that these messages would not look > unique, but would still carry the same content. > > We can generalize the things that spambots might do and suggest that > a general spambot would do the following to avoid spam detection: > > 1) modify all header fields, for example From: Subject:, etc, with > each spam posting. > 2) Follow up to other articles posted to newsgroups so that the > spams would look like genuine unique messages to the readers, and > defeat spam detectors Right - if you're following up in a newsgroup, you can just re-use the subject. You can also use the "From:" and other headers from one of the regular posters. > 3) Randomly altering the spam message proper such that blindly comparing If you're following up, then rather than being random, you can tailor you response based on the message you're following up on - kind of like Eliza or better. :-) > them would be futile. Such alterations may include interchanging certain > synonymous words, adding spaces or punctuation, or simply changing line > wrapping length. > 4) Swapping paragraphs and phrases. > 5) Add random headers, footers & fillings (like ASCII art) > > I am sure that the readers can come up with more examples. > > The task (or the problem) is: > > a) come up with a reasonable set of assumptions of what such a > spambot would or could do > b) Create an algorithm which would print Message-IDs of messages that > have identical content, so that most if not all of the judgments of > this algorithm would be correct, assuming that the spambot operates > within the limits of a). > > A message can be thought of as a sequence of words, phrases and > paragraphs, as well as a set of header lines. > > Path: header field may be specially treated. I don't think it's possible. --- Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps

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Cryptography Export
by Secret Squirrel 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I export cryptography source code almost every single day. Does the government have a problem with that? Fuck them in the ass! I can't believe that corporations pay legal experts huge sums of money to receive advice telling them to bend over and spread 'em for the government's bullshit legislation. I am not alone. My nephew regularly exports 'code' for Pig-Latin, as a parody of my efforts to spread the use of crypto. He says that they can take his Pig-Latin when they pry it from his cold, dead, baby fingers. Cable companies regularly export encryption code when they send out their signal-scrambling code to foreign recipients. Can you think of other examples? Can you think of hundreds of similar examples? Think about it. If the government wants to prosecute me for exporting encryption code, then they had best be prepared to prosecute _all_ exporters of every single item that involves altering data that can be re-converted on the other end to render the output intelligible. If you think that I am taking this matter lightly, then think again, because I have a legal opinion from an attorney who has been shoving the governments dick back in their own face for half a century, and he regards my potential defence as a cake-walk. I not only already have the paperwork set up to defy any potential restraining orders that may arise, but I have a judge that is fully prepared to institute the necessary proceedings to validate my right to do what hundreds or thousands of individuals and corporations are doing every single day. If the government thinks that they can legislate the thickness of condoms available for export, then they had best think again. And if they think that they can require exported condoms to have holes in them, then they are certainly living in fantasy land. I am a self-confessed madman, but I am a madman standing on legal precedents that are as solid as the Rock of Gibralter. (Think about it.) Potential Prudential Precedent <precedent(a)crackhouse.gov>

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Re: Cuba and AP
by nobody＠huge.cajones.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 16:24:54 -0700 Subject: Re: Cuba and AP To: cypherpunks(a)toad.com From: nobody(a)huge.cajones.com (Huge Cajones Remailer) On the date above TruthMonger (#7) stumbled about missed the point: [SNIP THIS TRIPE] >>>> The stench in Cuba was so bad under the U.S. backed Batista regime that Guerva and Castro were a breath of fresh air for the majority of Cuban people. Despite years of harassment, invasion, and economic attack on Cuba by the shameless 'free' countries <yuk,yuk> of the world, Castro is still a better option for the Cuban people than other options. <<<< Moreover, young #7, those older than you recall the _joy_ with which Castro, et al, were greeted by much of the US media and a large segment of the seemingly informed public. Only, I say only, when it became common knowledge that Castro was backed by the commies did he become the villain. Better the people suffer under bu$ine$$-supported Batista than be ruled by a Red! Believe it; I was there, whippersnapper! TruthMonger (#23)

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Re: Anti-Spambot: what algorithm should be used?
by dlv＠bwalk.dm.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

owner-cypherpunks(a)manifold.algebra.com writes: > As we all know, there exist certain programs, called "spambots", whose > task is to post various messages to many newsgroups simultaneously. > > Besides their posting functionality, certain spambot programs take > special care to make their spams undetectable by anti-spambots. In > particular, they can be programmed to modify certain fields or the > message text itself in such a way that these messages would not look > unique, but would still carry the same content. I just came up with yet another brilliant idea how to combine Usenet marketing with e-cash. Suppose Alice runs an advertizing agency and gets paid to publicize certain messages of commercial or political nature. She sets up a Web page listing the catalog of regexps that she wishes to publicize. Something like: 1. Visit.*teens.*http://www.xxxfoo.bar 2. Elect.*John M. Grubor.*sheriff 4. For a drooling good time.*900-555-5555 3. Drink Kaka Cola and a price list for each regexp - say, $2 for posting this regexp in a moderated newsgroup, 50c for the Big 8, 25c for alt and regionals. I'm not sure if cross-posts should be discounted. Assuming there are several such Alices, the prices will be set by supply and demand. Suppose Bob, in search of a few quick bucks, comes across Alice's site. We'd have to think of a protocol, but Alice assigns Bob an id which he must mention together with the regexps in order to get credit. Alice and Bob enter a contract. Bob puts one or more of Alice's regexps in his Usenet articles - most likely in the .signature. For example: From: bob Newsgroups: rec.sports.phishing,alt.fan.alice Message-ID: <123(a)bob.server> <something phishing-related> -- Elect John M. Grubor sheriff!!! Alice's ID# 123456 I am Bob! I am Bob! I am Bob the Poster! Drink Kaka Kola Alice's bot searches the Usenet feed (like K*bo and S*rd*r) for the regexps that she is paid to promote. When she encounters Bob's article, it extracts Bob's ID and the Message-Id, counts the distinct regexps, and the newsgroups, and credits Bob's account. If Carol follows up on Bob's article and quotes Bob's regexps and ID#, then Bob gets paid again. If somehow an article contains the ID# of two or more of Alice's agents, they split the fee. Alice's contract can also specify that if a third party forges a cancel within a week for Bob's Usenet article containing the regexp, then Alice will pay nothing and let Bob sue the forger for the lost income. (This may become moot as more and more ISPs ignore forged cancels.) This gives Bob the insentive to spam intelligently - not to trigger any cancelbots and not to have his plug pulled by his ISP. Alice can also put some reasonable caps on the number of repetitions because if Bob posts the same regexp 10,000 times, the marginal exposure is less from Bob than from a newbie Carol. Again, if there are several such Alices, the market will take care of negotiating such details. Actually, this doesn't even need e-cash - Alice can pay regular $$$. Hi Ross - if you're still on these lists, I think you'll like this. --- Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps

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Re: Blanc Weber / Positivist Schill
by paul＠fatmans.demon.co.uk 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> Are you part of a cypherpunks list conspiracy to balance my > cynicism? Are you actually suggesting that there may be a spark > of hope for mankind to prevail in the battle with the forces of > mindless robotic sheepnocity? There is little hope unless we kill around 70% of the population of the planet, those untouched by western "democracy" or the totalitarian autocracies of the mid and far east are the only people sure to be mentally capable of comprehending the ethical theory and idealogy of anarchism. > You seem to be one of the eternal optimists who can even see > the possible good in AP. One does not need to be an optimist to see the good in AP, merely capable of following a logical chain of thought without allowing yourself to react to things rather than really considering them. > I suggested in a recent post that perhaps Green Peace could use > the AP system to drain the profit margins of whalers without > actually causing their death. Of course, I was low on Scotch at > the time, so my idea cannot be taken seriously. I am low on Jack Daniels at the moment, so I too am not functioning as usual. Reality is merely a halucination brought on by lack of alcohol. Datacomms Technologies web authoring and data security Paul Bradley, Paul(a)fatmans.demon.co.uk Paul(a)crypto.uk.eu.org, Paul(a)cryptography.uk.eu.org Http://www.cryptography.home.ml.org/ Email for PGP public key, ID: 5BBFAEB1 "Don`t forget to mount a scratch monkey"

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