December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: The "Nymalizer" and Shannon's Information Theory
by cfrye＠ciis.mitre.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Extending off Tim's comments: >I want to briefly mention another way of looking at this issue, and >will use Curtis' comments to start: > >> For the past few years I've looked at this issue (author identification >> through text content analysis) a bit from a psycholinguistic point of view. >... >> A 1983 paper (which I also do not have the cite handy for) by Dr. Murray >> Miron of Syracuse University gave his equations for analyzing two texts (of >> roughly similar lengths) and establishing a probability that the two >> writings were produced by the same individual. In his paper, Dr. Miron >... >> The same idea applies here - for CUSUM or similar analysis to be valid, an >> analyst needs large volumes of messages where one of the authors is known > >One can view this problem in terms of Shannon's theorem about the >transmission of a message in the presence of noise: > >* Signal -- the identity of the poster (true name, pseudonym, >whatever) >- characteristic usage of words, of punctuation, and whatnot (see) Absolutely true, though the question is whether or not this analysis provides a *unique* style signature for a given individual. Note how quickly jargon is passed around and how quickly you, in conversation, acquire new phrases from your surroundings. >- even the ideologies expressed (which LD incorrectly used to >conclude Jamie Dinkelacker and I "must" be the same person) This is where I begin to disagree. Suppose one or two individuals wanted to conduct a debate on a subject and steer the discussion to a predetermined issue space. By creating multiple identities (as Peter and Val did in _Ender's Game_ by Orson Scott Card, *shameless plug: GREAT BOOK*), one could achieve this or another goal by varying the ideologies expressed in the writing and foil this style of analysis. Also, there is a question about the reliability of context-sensitive text analysis engines. If the engine is knowledge base-driven, it is unreliable outside its realm of expertise; if it's a neural net-based package, the training collection is very important. > >* Noise -- variations in spelling, usage, etc. The Net doesn't place a lot of emphasis on spelling and most posts/messages aren't spell-checked, increasing the noise in the system. >- many people use similar constructions and whatnot (like this) Again, the "unique signature" problem. Perhaps one could determine regional background (New England, Deep South of the US etc.) from this reliably, though I'm not sure how much farther the analysis could be extended. > >Now Shannon's theorem, which can be applied here if some care is taken >(that is, don't apply it too simplistically or too mechanistically), >says that no matter how much noise is present, one can extract the >signal if one samples enough. > >(Caveats: for a stationary sequence, etc., whereas one's writings may >change with time, with the topic at hand, etc.) I would believe that these caveats are a significant barrier to establishng a unique signature. > >But to Shannon's basic view one must also add _intereference_, whether >deliberate (spoofing) or not. If I try to emulate the style of S. >Boxx, for example, by writing in the form "I am becoming INCREASINGLY >DISGUSTED by the blatant disregard for the Cypherpunks CAUSE and ...", >then this "intereference" could greatly complicate the signal >extraction. > >In fact, more obscure correlations would have to be looked at, ones >which might require many more messages to analyze...possibly more >message samples than exist. There is also the question of whether or not current text analysis programs are capable of making these distinctions/correlations and whether or not these distinctions can be communicated to the program overseers once they are established. My basic position is that text analysis packages are probably not advanced enough to reliably analyze more or less extemporaneous utterances transmitted in the form of email or posts. However, I second Tim's call for a text analysis on various messages, beginning with those of single authors to check the reliability of the system. I'm just an amateur and of no real help technically, but there's bound to be someone in one of the CS/AI departments around the world that could provide us with a reasonable text analysis engine. Curtis D. Frye cfrye(a)ciis.mitre.org "If you think I speak for MITRE, I'll tell you how much they pay me and make you feel foolish."

1 0

PC random number hardware
by jon＠balder.us.dell.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Does anyone know of a commerical source (or schematics) for a good random bitstream generator -- something that you hang off of COM1 and read random bytes from? Can anyone refute the claim that you can only generate truly random numbers using hardware? I recall seeing a proof that totally random numbers could only be generated by an infinitely large program. Jon

1 0

Modem taps/Caller ID
by Philippe Nave 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The recent discussions of tapping modem transmissions reminds me of a scrap of data I saw about Caller ID [the service provided by the phone company that displays the caller's phone number whenever your phone rings]. Supposedly, the phone company transmits the caller's number as a burst of 1200 or 2400 baud ASCII between the first and second rings; if your modem is set up 'just right,' you can capture the number with a PC. [Sorry there is so little data to go on; this tidbit appeared on a PC bulletin board and there was no follow-up discussion.] Does anyone here know more about this? I would dearly love to set up a program on the PC in my basement that could capture Caller ID data and log it in a database. Obnoxious callers (Olan Mills, local telemarketers, etc.) could be identified easily, and I could program the modem to pick up / hang up on those calls. Then, I could ignore the phone until the third ring; my PC would automatically dispose of nuisance callers as soon as the Caller ID data was processed. Also, I'd build up a database of names and phone numbers important to me - maybe I'd spend less time scrounging my pile of Post-It notes looking for phone numbers. ........................................................................ Philippe D. Nave, Jr. | The person who does not use message encryption pdn(a)dwroll.dw.att.com | will soon be at the mercy of those who DO... Denver, Colorado USA | PGP public key: by arrangement.

3 2

Re: Modem taps/Caller ID
by jim＠bilbo.suite.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Practical Peripherals sells a modem that also captures Caller ID info and makes it available to your comm program. I've also seen devices that do this for sale in the back of BBS magazines. Jim_Miller(a)suite.com

1 0

Need Info
by ski_man＠mindvox.phantom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hi all, I'm brand spanking new to this list but I need to ask a favor I am doing an independent study on Public Encryption next semester and need some background info for my prof before the school will ok the class. Thuss I need some anon ftp sites and the such to gather some info, any help will be greatly appreciated Thanx ski_man(a)mindvox.phantom.com ( Chris Wisnoski) p.s. you can also e-nail me any info you have

1 0

Re: Taxes
by ljenkins＠mv.us.adobe.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> I disagree that income tax is a bad thing. What other way > does the government have of maintaining fairness across I am a relative novice in taxation policies, and among other things, I would like to hear recommendations from people in this list about books and/or articles to read, but the bad thing about income taxes is that it "gives" the government the "right" to snoop into all your affairs because they have to know what your income is. Having grown up in another country and lived in other countries, (that also have income taxes), but don't intrude so much into your private life, I must say that I was shocked the first time that I had to file an income tax declaration in the USA! Of all the countries where I have lived (four or five), this is the only place where *individuals* need to keep ridiculously detailed records of everything! And the only country I know where individuals routinely have to hire an accountant to be able to file a tax return ... Is moving to a consuption-based tax system part of the solution or not? Luis PS: I realize that this is not exactly a cypher issue, so is there a better place to discuss it?

2 1

Wired 1.6 is not yet publically available
by tcmay＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Cyphertentacles, A couple of you have asked about "Wired" and the availability of the new issue, 1.6. Especially as the first "monthly" issue, 1.5, has only been out a few weeks. (And it mentions a strange thing called "BlackNet" on page 32, as sharp observers have noted.) I've been told by Sandy Sandfort that the issue is not yet on the newstands, and may not even be sent out to contributor and subscribers for a couple more weeks....so no point in looking for it now. How'd I get one, then? Well, we found hundred of copies of 1.6 on our dinner tables Friday night at the Hackers Conference. The FinCEN article that I mentioned was thus a fine preparation for the Crypto panel later that evening. Speaking of which, it went quite well. Personally, I liked the panels on "agents and agoric computing," the talk on "algorithmic investing," and the demoes of some truly impressive virtual reality work at Sun. Maybe the crypto stuff is old hat to me. But lots of folks were extremely interested, many even claiming it was their favorite panel. The panelists were Peter Honeyman, Phil Karn, Eric Hughes, Mike Godwin, and John Draper, with me nominally as the moderator. A "BOF" ("birds of a feather," a SIG by another name) session was held in the early hours of Saturday, with even more interest. We may get another wave of new members on the list. -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay(a)netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^756839 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. Note: I put time and money into writing this posting. I hope you enjoy it.

1 0

Tropez phones
by Wabasha-Kellogg High School 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I'm new. Has anyone dissected one of the beasties yet & posted protocol, internals, etc?

1 0

[alt.security.pgp] pgp.iastate.edu service discontinued
by warlord＠MIT.EDU 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

This was sent over the net, and should answer your question about KeyServers. The other keyservers are all operational. -derek ------- Start of forwarded message ------- Newsgroups: alt.security.pgp From: explorer(a)iastate.edu (Michael Graff) Subject: pgp.iastate.edu service discontinued Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA Date: Fri, 5 Nov 1993 21:08:12 GMT Due to circumstances I cannot control, I can no longer support a public key server on pgp.iastate.edu. Please use one of the other server sites for key exchanges. --Michael -- Michael Graff <explorer(a)iastate.edu> Speaking for myself, not Project Vincent Voice: (515)294-4994 for ISU or the ISUCC Iowa State Univ Comp Center Fax: (515)294-1717 Ames, IA 50011 -=*> PGP key on pgp-public-keys(a)pgp.iastate.edu <*=- ------- End of forwarded message -------

1 0

Re: Mark Abene (Phiber Optik) sentenced
by doug＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

gtoal(a)an-teallach.com (Graham Toal) >Dunno if this is how they did it, but you get *perfect* data tapping >if you record digitally off the exchange trunks... "Perfect" reproduction of an analog signal that may be noisy and smeared, you mean. The original critique holds. Your argument applies if and only if the entire transmission is digital from one end to the other. Doug

1 0