December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

ENCRYPTED FILE SYSTEM
by Mike Ingle 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

"thomas.hughes(a)chrysalis.org" wrote: >Subj: ENCRYPTED FILE SYSTEMS >>> ObCrypt: I'm looking for info on designing a distributed encrypted >>> filesystem. Any pointers? >in the "PC" world, look for DISKREET (with Norton's Utilities). >it simple, "Stacker"-like, and user friendly. >it seems to offer "feeble DES" > and "even more feeble DES" >it's speed is almost negligable when in use. > (which doesn't say very much for the "stength" of the encryption.) No, don't use Diskreet. Use my Secure Drive. Beta now if you want it, and release with source soon. Uses IDEACFB, protects a hd partition and floppies, takes only 2K ram, and is very fast. Reasonably user-friendly. You have to create a D: partition to use on a hard drive. >If the NSA is paranoid over PGP, what will they think of plug in pirate >PROMS for USR Couriers that will create obscenely secure connections? > (although the encrypted connections might not fly along at full speed, > that tis but a small price to pay...) What's the CPU in a Courier? Is the hardware well enough documented to hack something like this up? I once burned a rom for a friend's courier, from a file which he had, to give it V.32 instead of just HST which it previously had. Not sure where the file came from. An SRAM also had to be installed. --- MikeIngle(a)delphi.com

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ANNOUNCEMENT: Markey Bill debuts in house.
by Brian D Williams 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The opinions expressed are my own and do not represent the views of Ameritech or any of its alliance partners. So, Markey proposes a bill that would "allow" the RBOC's to do video..... Markey likes it.... The EFF likes it...... I wouldn't invest a dime in a proposal that stupid..... not interested.......... Brian Williams

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Re: <8c> C-source for diffie-hellman?
by smb＠research.att.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

DH itself is a trivial algorithm. All you need is a decent multiple precsion math package. I think all it takes is -- random numbers -- primality test -- gcd -- raise-to-power-modulo-some-number One more thing -- you want the base for the exponentiations to be a generator of the subgroup. Also, ideally the modulus should be a prime of the form kp+1, where p is also a prime and k is a small integer. Your DH toolkit should include routines to generate the base and modulus according to those criteria. BTW, schneier is literally a FAQ for cypherpunks. Fantastic book. Cough up the money for it... Indeed, though I've only seen some drafts; my copy of the book itself hasn't arrived yet.

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Threats from Detweiler
by tcmay＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>Brian D Williams writes: > > Just want to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday. > > Party on! > >Party? PARTY?!? How the heck am I supposed to RELAX and ENJOY myself >when we're all here just WAITING for the FINAL JUDGEMENT to fall on >our TENTACLES?!? I'm a BASKET CASE! > >-- >Mike McNally I said I wouldn't comment further on Detweiler unless and until something changed and new information came to light. Folks, this is the time to really take care of yourself. "The Executioner" announced the "time's up" and that more drastic measures are about to occur. "an12070(a)anon.penet.fi" is beyond any doubt Larry Detweiler. Many other folks have posted analyses of why this is so: the use of TeX quotes, the same vocabulary, the same agenda (against TENTACLES of the MEDUSA), and even the same arrival times of messages (I get my death threats from S. Boxx and The Executioner every night around 10 p.m. to midnight, the same time as Detweiler's rants appear). I take him seriously. He's deranged. A lot more than just slightly neurotic, he's transitioned into insanity. His religious rants ("You will be hung by the neck until dead and then sent to Hell"), his death threats, his wailings and moanings....not a lot of doubt that he's psychotic. Me, I'm keeping my guns loaded in case he decides to drive out to California and end his misery by "cutting off the Tentacles," as he keeps threatening to do.I consider this unlikely, though. Too far to drive when he's got closer targets. The "Colorado Tentacles" should be especially careful, I think. Phil Zimmermann is currently back on Larry's good side (I quote: "Phil is God"), but this may not last long. (Hint: Phil Z. was not at all happy with Larry's rant about Tentacles and his quoting of Phil's comments at that Colorado talk he gave. If Larry discovers this, as he surely will, Phil may be back in the boat with the rest of us Spawns of Satan.) I don't think I'm being alarmist in advising you all to watch out for this guy. --Tim P.S. As long as I'm on the subject, let me again say that I'm not sending Detweiler any messages at all. I don't know if he's really getting anonymous messages ("pseudospoofers"), but if he is, they're not from me. And they never have been. John Gilmore wrote a very reasonable piece, addressing Detweiler's source of confusion, and has since been flamed and ranted against. Typical. And now I'll fall silent on this matter until something new happens. I just hope it isn't a "Texas Tower" sort of violent encounter. If you've got a gun, now's the time to make sure it's handy. If you don't have a gun, consider getting one. --TCM -- 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: by arrangement Note: I put time and money into writing this posting. I hope you enjoy it.

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holiday
by Brian D Williams 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Just want to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday. Party on! Brian Williams

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Re: Give me your password- OR ELSE!
by owen＠autodesk.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> From: "Philippe Nave" <pdn(a)dwroll.dw.att.com> > Jim Miller writes : > > > > Assume you use strong crypto to protect your secrets. > > Assume a lot of people start using crypto to protect their secrets. > > Assume there are people who want to discover these secrets. > > Might we some day see an increase in the number physical attacks as bad guys > > resort to rubber-hose methods to get at the keys that protect the secrets? > I think this phenomenon is more or less inevitable, unless serious thought > is given to a way to prevent it. Let's take a simple example and progress > to a more complex scenario: (Interesting examples deleted) One can think up all sorts of hypothetical scenes. Underneath it all however, I believe is a simple axiom. When prevention methods thwart a criminals intent, they find new methods. Car alarms and security systems didn't convince the criminals who make their living ripping off cars that the *Good ole days were over* and it was time to get a job at Burger Sri, it spurred them to find new methods to ply their trade. Beyond that it didn't bother them to up the ante regarding the level of violence they would utilise. Now extrapolate that into the concept of industrial espionage, white collar crime, and put everyone on the same wire. !!!!! LUX ./. owen

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Re: holiday
by Jef Poskanzer 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> Here is the secret to understanding everything. It also contains the >TRUE identity of Dark Unicorn, S.Boxx, and in fact everyone on the list. >Unfortunately, it is encrypted in an unbelievably complex algorithm based >on the factoring of infinity. Well, here it is. Crack it if you can! Since infinity is the product of all numbers, it was fairly easy to factor. Decrypted text appended. --- Jef o&#&o. ____ ___o\_ d| "9, ?H##""'`"'""'`""`"&o. ,M |b__o=q\ .d*" ___. ,==\\`Ho. H| `"" J* .,MT ,H$odH? dH#DqHD `&?. M| ,&' .dM*' +R96]#P `HMbHP `9b. Mi .HP .#HP' `""""' `9#. M| |H' HH `H, `b H| dP # `H, H |M JM .o 9HdH |b |M. |L MT ,o,HP M| M_ M. M M| ""HM. ,. .&"#HH MM H' T.HH `Mb &#?| `\.JM M# H| |b|M `Hb.^d| .,d#' ,H T| 9L*b. `M##o______oood#&9H" dH' |M `HL`H?. `H/H&$$??????o/?&' dM* |M. `Hb ?M#b_ `*&$P#MMMM#*$/*' ,H#' Mb HHH? `*Mb. `"#H###d*'' ,MP' MM. ?H' "HHb\ .##" TMb .dP' `"#MHbooooooooodHHM *M| ,#H' ""TM"'""""' *M| MH,.oH' .d| .M| |MMH' .H* HP TH, ,H' .dP'

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Pseudospoofing, LD, life, the universe, and everything
by nate＠VIS.ColoState.EDU 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Cypherpunks, I thought that the infamous L. Detweiler had stopped his posting, but it appears that he is back, and more neurotic than ever. I thought that it was the time for me to make another post relating to him, the list in general, and LD's obsession with pseudospoofing. OK, first, LD is pissing me off, as, I am sure, he is doing to many others out there in net.land. His raves are nothing if not persistant and ever increasingly long. I, being the founding member of the Colorado Cypherpunks, am not particularly prowd of him being affiliated with the group. I don't hate him, as some of teh others on this list apparently do, I just think he is a very persistant pest, a fly in the ointment. I think it is important to remember that in every movement there are fanatics, and in the best of intentions are those who would do harm while trying to crusade the good. I believe that Detweiler is one such person. He is experiencing some very serious problems with what he believes to be a concerted effort by some devilish cabal to warp and mung his brain through the rampant use of pseudospoofing. OK, fine if he believes that, I cannot keep him from thinking that some of us are emmisaries of Satan. I can, however, wish that he would leave me the hell alone and stop posting these long, drawn-out core dumps of his mangled psyche. I can ask him to stop his madness, though I know that it will only get me on his bad side, and possibly put me in physical danger (since I live in his vicinity, lucky me). I think that's enough on Detweiler himself, and I hope I don't have to talk about him anymore. On to pseudospoofing. I think that it exists, and that it's denial is just plain naive. The world is a non-friendly place, and there are dangers out there, and people who will exploit every aspect of the system to trick, decieve, and mangle others. This should not come as a shock to anyone on the list, since we are generally on (or close to) the cutting edge of new technologies and methods to use those technologies. I, myself have never participated in any kind of conspiracy with intent to confuse, nor have i ever posted under a name other than my own, and my anon.penet.fi identity. I have not posted as anyone that I am not, and have no intention to do so. I do not, however, object to the use of these technologies, or to the act of pseudospoofing. It cannot hope to be prevented, since there are always people out there who will figure out how to exploit the system to do their bidding. Yes, it's true, I am coming out in favor of pseudospoofing. I do not object to it's use, on the premise that it cannot be stopped, and it rarely does hard, aside from those (LD) whose minds are bent by the mere thought that it is happening. Enough of that. Now onto the list. I put some serious thought into dropping from the list for the past week or so, and I have decided _not_ to leave bacause sometime there are bits of information that I get from the list that are simply not available anywhere else. Some of the members of the list are, however, pissing me off. The list has degraded from a band of freedom fighters with things they cared about in jeopardy to a bunch of fucking children bickering over the most pathetic of things. I hope that the recent barrage of postings is not indicative of what is to come. If it is, then I may just reconsider and leave. I think that's all I have to say for now... I just wanted to let people know what I was thinking, and set the record straight if there are any members who think I am still on LD's side (which I was for quite some time). Thanks, - -nate +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Nate Sammons nate(a)VIS.ColoState.Edu (303) 491-1578 | | Colorado State University -- Computer Visualization Laboratory | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Re: Give me your password- OR ELSE!
by owen＠autodesk.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> > From: karn(a)qualcomm.com (Phil Karn) > >Car alarms and security systems didn't convince the criminals who make their > >living ripping off cars that the *Good ole days were over* and it was time > >to get a job at Burger Sri, it spurred them to find new methods to ply > >their trade. > How do you know this? Clearly some crooks may have just moved to more > violent methods, but it's quite probable that others moved off to > other fields where it's easier to make a buck, either legal or > illegal. Watch the nightly news or if you want to be really anal about it look up statistics about the increase in violent carjacking. Walk down the street in any San Francisco neighborhood, and count the piles of tempered glass that used to be car windows. So OK, you don't have a criminal mind, and it makes sense to you that it might be a good time to go legit, but let me offer you my sincere advice not to move into a bad neighborhood, you are at a natural disadvantage. > Although widely deployed strong cryptography may well cause an > increase in violent, rubber-hose cryptanalysis, this technique is > likely to be useful only for stored encrypted records and for > encrypted communications whose protocols are not secure against this > type of attack, e.g., PGP encrypted email. tightly focused linear thinkers are perfect targets for criminally minded predators, they are assured that you will leave them a wide arena from which to operate undetected. > > But much better protocols exist where online two-way communication is > possible, e.g., signed Diffie-Hellman key exchange, with periodic > automatic rekeying. Once you rekey in such a system, no amount of > rubber hosing will obtain prior session keys; they're gone even to the > participants. Recently a Cash machine was installed in a building which I frequent. It was placed 10 feet inside a plate glass window, and has easy access for a small truck to drive up and haul it away. It even has wheels. I noted that this presented a danger to those of us who were in the building late at night, since it was apparently so vulnerable. I was concerned that the unarmed security guard was a sitting duck, and perhaps target practice, for theives intent on driving through the window and quickly hauling the whole shebang away. The cash machine installer informed me that the unit had a cel phone and GPS that would call and give its location if tampered with, but he didn't have an answer when I remarked that this would be littel comfort to anyone shot or injured by thieves unaware of this factor. and please don't tell me that posting signs telling would-be criminals about these security precautions will do any good. They won't. > And even if you rubber-hose one of the participants into revealing the > RSA key he uses to sign his DH exchanges, this will only let you > masquerade as him in future conversations. In order to tap his future > conversations surreptitiously, you'd have to rubberhose him without > his knowledge, or hypnotize him into forgetting the incident. I'd say > this is difficult. More so than secretly hacking the machine he uses > to capture his secrets. Once again, it comes down to some level of > physical security, at least while the machine is in actual use. You are making an error if you think that any locks keep out anything but honest people. Necesity is the mother of invention. The point is that these issues are not linear, when implemented in real world situations you must consider the real world implications and provide real world solutions. LUX ./. owen

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Re: Give me your password- OR ELSE!
by Jef Poskanzer 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>Watch the nightly news or if you want to be really anal about it look up >statistics about the increase in violent carjacking. Actually, I did that. Turns out the supposed increase that got all the media attention was solely due to the SFPD establishing a new statistical category. The actual number of incidents has not changed significantly. --- Jef

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