December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

The Code Breaker's Work Bench?
by Mark Terka 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I saw someone mention this program on sci.crypt once. Its supposed to be an aid to those trying to break a cypher. Does anybody know the ftp site it is located on? unimi.it perhaps? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Terka | werewolf(a)io.org | public key (werewolf) by Toronto,Canada | dg507(a)cleveland.freenet.edu | public key server or request ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...
by Robert A. Hayden 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- I read with interest about the (about time) reorganization of the EFF. While it is certainly a little early to make any kind of final decisions about the EFF, I do wonder a few things: What will the EFF now be doing now that isn't already done by other organizations? It sure seems to me that this CDT is awfully similiar to the CPSR, except it's headed by former EFF people who have been puckering up to the Washington politicos, the Telcos and other entities for the past few years. Is there really a purpose? Any thoughts on how the EFF will change it's approach? I'm due for renewal in March and I want to make sure I'm not flushing my money away. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBLwdsDDokqlyVGmCFAQFFlwP+NHiRjJPt8wqe4TuPoHrlAp9lbbu1Y2eZ foacY3htQgeXc2S4lcKbAvFAMEYpmjYw27IKpjSKXkuqML0x6uL7h9AGmc5EcP7h ZwWrOLhrqxqQNehGaxB6/2tqlb2W0usAkl3fwZPz/hJEPaR++ajmx/eunGFT8S6w pQWlpZL1K/0= =cuip -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ____ Robert A. Hayden <=> hayden(a)krypton.mankato.msus.edu \ /__ -=-=-=-=- <=> -=-=-=-=- \/ / Finger for Geek Code Info <=> All I want is a cure... \/ Finger for PGP Public Key <=> And all my friends back!

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cnonymity, law and order
by an172607＠anon.penet.fi 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I want to publicly thank John Young for making articles available. MOst of those articles I would not otherwise have seen. I was particularly interested in Peter Lewis's article from the New York Tines that John offered. Was there anyone in the world, well, in the cyberworld, who was fooled by the article on the Microsoft acquisition of the Catholic church? Anyone, who after reading that piece, considered anything other than the creativity of the author, should be committed to St. John's Home for the Desperately Dumb. However, there was something in that article that was of concern. If the Massachusetts judge in the MIT student case actually said that he couldn't act because Congress had not enacted any laws, then it is for sure they will try to and they will try to act hurriedly. Hurried actions by congress are even worse than their considered actions. I think we need to keep in touch with our representatives and senators to make sure that all of the ramifications of any law are considered. Sometimes laws passed by Congress are rather well intentioned, but the bureaucrats who write the policies and procedures by which the laws will be implemented can make them an albatross around our necks. These policy and procedure writers are dreadfully misinformed and are to enamored with their power and position to inform themselves. Admittedly, anonymity and law and order are not easy bed fellows, but difficult issues are never solved by hurried, uninformed, politically-motivated action. This puts some pressure on us cypherpunks. We have to be ready to consider all aspects of the argument so that our presentation in favor of anonymity will be taken seriously. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To find out more about the anon service, send mail to help(a)anon.penet.fi. Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized, and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned. Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to admin(a)anon.penet.fi.

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Book review: Codebreakers, the Inside Story of Bletchley Park
by gnu 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

This is NOT David Kahn's excellent book "The Codebreakers". This is a British volume full of personal stories of thirty people who worked at Bletchley Park or at British code-breaking in the field during WW2. I found it a very touching and personal book. Each person tells their own story in a five- or six-page essay, and the stories cover a whole range of activities, from cryptanalytical work to typing-and-filing to the people who constructed and maintained the physical buildings. As the introduction says, "...few of the events described here were chronicled at the time, and those who worked at Bletchley and its outstations were forbidden to talk or write about it -- almost to remember it. The compiling of this book has rested almost entirely on personal memories; and that is unusual in an account which pretends to any sort of accuracy. Moreover, nobody who worked at Bletchley can now be under 65; several contributors are in their mid-80s. For all of us clear and accurate recollection of highly specialized Top Secret facts across fifty years has been a demanding task, requiring much cross-checking." There are lots of details about how real live wartime code-breaking worked fifty years ago -- details I have seen nowhere else. I recommend this book to any cypherpunk. Codebreakers: the inside story of Bletchley Park. ed. by Francis Harry Hinsley and Alan Stripp. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1994 (hardback issued in 1993). ISBN 0-19-285304-X. US$13.95, at my local bookstore. -- John Gilmore gnu(a)toad.com -- gnu(a)cygnus.com -- gnu(a)eff.org A well-regulated intelligentsia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear books, shall not be infringed.

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I'm back. :)
by Lile Elam 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hi folks, I finally got back on cypherpunks. Have been incredibly busy but wanted to keep intouch as several artist friends of mine want to start using art as a encryption vehical... Should be fun... Happy New Years. Let's hope it's a good one for cryptography. -lile ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lile Elam | "a brush in hand, a wisp of wind, she sighs lile(a)art.net | knowing that this will be the great one..." http://www.art.net | -lile ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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good news about the EFF...
by Lile Elam 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

This might be of interest: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 20 Dec 1994 17:04:23 -0800 From: Brock N. Meeks <brock(a)well.sf.ca.us> To: cwd-l(a)cyberwerks.com Subject: CWD Changes in the Wind At EFF CyberWire Dispatch // Copyright (c) 1994 // Jacking in from the "Back to the Future" Port: Washington, DC -- The Electronic Frontier Foundation has fired its Policy Director Jerry Berman and will soon release a sweeping new agenda for 1995 that promises to return the organization to its original grassroots beginning. Asked to comment on his firing, Berman bristles and says: "I think that's baloney." Then he quickly adds: "Did you ever think I might have wanted to leave?" Berman has, in fact, left EFF, to head a new, as yet unannounced, policy group called the Center for Democracy and Technology. His departure from EFF and the creation of CDT will be made public this week in a joint announcement with EFF, sources said. The official line that will be spun to the public is that the two came to a "mutual parting of the ways." That benign statement, however, doesn't reflect the long hours of the behind the scenes deliberations, in which the language of the press releases will be a cautiously worded as an official State Department briefing. Heroes and pioneers always take the arrows; EFF lately has looked more like a pin-cushion than its self-appointed role as protector of all things Cyberspace. The beleaguered organization has over the course of the past two years endured often withering criticism from the very frontier citizens it was sworn to uphold and protect. The reason: A perceived move away from its grassroots activism to the role of a consummate Washington Insider deal maker. Berman is the man largely responsible for cutting EFF's policy cloth. He wears the suit well. Maybe too well. Although he has the political acumen to arm-wrestle inside-the-beltway, it comes at the expense of his management style, EFF insiders said. Those shortcomings came at the expense of EFF's day-to-day operations and didn't go unnoticed by its board of directors. The EFF board in October fired Berman for mismanaging the group's organizational and fiscal responsibilities. No impropriety or malfeasance was alleged, the board was simply dissatisfied with Berman's day-to-day managing of the shop. In a precursor to the board's October decision, it split Berman's job, giving him charge of just the policy arm, which board members said played to his strength. They then hired Andrew Taubman as executive director to oversee the day to day tasks. Separate from the organizational and fiscal misgivings, the board also couldn't brook with priority on policy affairs that Berman had engineered. Although Berman expertly navigated EFF through the choppy political waters of Washington, that course increasingly steered the organization away from its original vision as a populist group. Never was the hardcore policy-driven slant of EFF more apparent than during the two-plus year political firestorm that surrounded the FBI's infamous Digital Wiretap. The political wrangling during that time, in which Berman brokered the influence of EFF with the backing of the telephone, computer and software industries, to reach a compromise with legislators and the FBI on the bill's language, increasingly drove a wedge between the organization and its grassroots membership. Nobody within EFF interviewed for this article disagreed with how Berman ran his policy tour de force. In fact, the board was generally in agreement that Berman did an excellent job in helping to broker a less nefarious version of the FBI's wiretap bill than would have otherwise passed without his involvement on EFF's behalf. As effective as Berman was in shuffling between the political and ideological interests of EFF and its members, the "inside baseball" political bullshit was largely lost on the community of the Net, who viewed it as a kind of betrayal. The fact that there would be a backlash from the Net came as no surprise to Berman and EFF, who recognized the fine line they had to walk in dealing with a politically charged issue rivaled only by the Administration's insipid Clipper Chip encryption policy. You see, the Net community is a binary braintrust, a world of ones and zeros -- either on or off -- in which shades of grey are rarely an option. Yet it is exactly these shades of grey in which Berman excels and thrives. It is a skill -- and damn near an art form -- to be able to move among the shadows and Washington's land of a thousand different agendas. And that's right where Berman had steered EFF. However, it's not where the EFF board thought the organization belonged. And so, in a few days the Net community will read a grand announcement in which EFF and Jerry Berman state they've had a "mutual parting of the ways." The announcement will be several fold, including: -- The formation of Berman's new Center for Democracy and Technology. -- That EFF has hired current board member David Johnson, currently a computer law attorney with the Washington law firm of Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering, to be its new policy director, although that exact title has yet to be finalized. -- A new policy agenda for EFF that includes creation of an annual "State of the Net" report. EFF Executive Director Taubman declined to comment on Berman's firing, saying only that the organization and its former director had, indeed, agreed to a "mutual parting of the ways." He said EFF and Berman's new group would continue to work closely with each other and that the efforts of each would be mutually beneficial. Johnson said he was excited about the new policy efforts he would be heading up for EFF, which, in addition to the "State of the Net" report, includes commissioning papers and studies to help build a more solid idea of what exactly constitutes the Net "community" on a global basis and helping to define the Net's community as recognizable legal entity. In addition to the new policy efforts, Johnson will have to restock EFF's policy department: All the EFF policy wonks have jumped ship, resigning their positions and joining with Berman's new venture. The upheaval at EFF -- which included moving the entire operation here to new digs in Washington -- apparently hasn't hurt moral which has "never been higher," Taubman said. Underscoring Taubman's remarks is EFF's on-line legal council Mike Godwin, who said the changes "create an opportunity for us to return to our more populist mission and vision that we started with." All Things Being Equal ================= Adversity for a political junkie is the warp and woof of Washington culture. Berman is no worse for the wear, having parachuted out of EFF and into his new organization. He said CDT will be differ from EFF "on what to emphasize." That emphasis will be to focus on "on the ground public policy," he said. And it won't only be Berman's staff that sets the scene for familiarity as he jump starts CDT. The former EFF policy staffers will supply him with horsepower and his political currency will open doors. But he needs cold hard cash to feed the troops and pay the rent. That means his new organization must have financial backing and here, too, there are no strangers. Berman's bringing along a fair chunk of EFF's corporate sponsors to his new home. Companies providing seed money to Berman's CDT include AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Nynex, Apple Computer and Microsoft. These same companies provided a combined $235,000 in donations to EFF in 1993, minus Nynex, which wasn't listed as a major donor (over $5,000) on EFF's tax returns. It's not known if these companies will continue to fund EFF in full or in part or what amount they have pledged to Berman's group. Just how well-heeled CDT is and exactly who makes up the full roster of its sponsorship remains to be seen. We'll know that after the organization files its first tax returns, which will be a matter of public record. Meeks out...

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Listing of Files on the Auto-Responder as of 01-01-95
by skaplin＠skypoint.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Last Modified: 01-01-95 20:30 (CST) This is the index for Sam Kaplin's Auto-Responder. To get a file: Send a message to: skaplin(a)c2.org The the subject of the message MUST BE: SEND FILE [file_name] EXAMPLE: Subject: SEND FILE help <----Case Sensitive!!! All binary files are UUENCODED with PGP signatures. Please address all comments or problems to skaplin(a)skypoint.com. If you receive a blank message back, then the file you requested does not exist. Should you have a crypto related file that you would like added, contact me at: skaplin(a)skypoint.com. Please note that I am subject to the petty whims of the U.S. government, so I will not add any files which may be subject to ITAR. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- File Name Description - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- apgp212_1.uue Autopgp 2.12 offline mail packet processor. Automates PGP functions. Part 1 of 4 apgp212_2.uue Autopgp 2.12 offline mail packet processor. Automates PGP functions. Part 2 of 4 apgp212_3.uue Autopgp 2.12 offline mail packet processor. Automates PGP functions. Part 3 of 4 apgp212_4.uue Autopgp 2.12 offline mail packet processor. Automates PGP functions. Part 4 of 4 apgp22b2_1.uue Autopgp 2.2b2 offline mail packet processor. Automates PGP functions. Part 1 of 4 BETA apgp22b2_2.uue Autopgp 2.2b2 offline mail packet processor. Automates PGP functions. Part 2 of 4 BETA apgp22b2_3.uue Autopgp 2.2b2 offline mail packet processor. Automates PGP functions. Part 3 of 4 BETA apgp22b2_4.uue Autopgp 2.2b2 offline mail packet processor. Automates PGP functions. Part 4 of 4 BETA cp-faq1.uue Tim May's Cypherpunk Faq - Everything you wanted to know about C'Punk issues, but were afraid to ask. Part 1 of 11 cp-faq2.uue Tim May's Cypherpunk Faq - Everything you wanted to know about C'Punk issues, but were afraid to ask. Part 2 of 11 cp-faq3.uue Tim May's Cypherpunk Faq - Everything you wanted to know about C'Punk issues, but were afraid to ask. Part 3 of 11 cp-faq4.uue Tim May's Cypherpunk Faq - Everything you wanted to know about C'Punk issues, but were afraid to ask. Part 4 of 11 cp-faq5.uue Tim May's Cypherpunk Faq - Everything you wanted to know about C'Punk issues, but were afraid to ask. Part 5 of 11 cp-faq6.uue Tim May's Cypherpunk Faq - Everything you wanted to know about C'Punk issues, but were afraid to ask. Part 6 of 11 cp-faq7.uue Tim May's Cypherpunk Faq - Everything you wanted to know about C'Punk issues, but were afraid to ask. Part 7 of 11 cp-faq8.uue Tim May's Cypherpunk Faq - Everything you wanted to know about C'Punk issues, but were afraid to ask. Part 8 of 11 cp-faq9.uue Tim May's Cypherpunk Faq - Everything you wanted to know about C'Punk issues, but were afraid to ask. Part 9 of 11 cp-faq10.uue Tim May's Cypherpunk Faq - Everything you wanted to know about C'Punk issues, but were afraid to ask. Part 10 of 11 cp-faq11.uue Tim May's Cypherpunk Faq - Everything you wanted to know about C'Punk issues, but were afraid to ask. Part 11 of 11 crypto1.uue The Faq from talk.politics.crypto. A general overview of cryptography. Part 1 of 2 crypto2.uue The Faq from talk.politics.crypto. A general overview of cryptography. Part 2 of 2 help This file. key Sam Kaplin's PGP Public keys. news_gateways A listing of Mail -News gateways pgpfaq1.uue Frequently asked questions about PGP. Part 1 of 2 pgpfaq2.uue Frequently asked questions about PGP. Part 2 of 2 rsa1.uue A Faq put out by RSA outlining cryptography as it applies to RSA. Part 1 of 2 rsa2.uue A Faq put out by RSA outlining cryptography as it applies to RSA. Part 2 of 2 remailer_list A current listing of remailer sites. wherefaq.long Where to obtain PGP. (Long Version) wherefaq.short Where to obtain PGP. (Short Version) yn075_1.uue YARN .075 offline mail reader. Minimally supports PGP internally. Part 1 of 14 yn075_2.uue YARN .075 offline mail reader. Minimally supports PGP internally. Part 2 of 14 yn075_3.uue YARN .075 offline mail reader. Minimally supports PGP internally. Part 3 of 14 yn075_4.uue YARN .075 offline mail reader. Minimally supports PGP internally. Part 4 of 14 yn075_5.uue YARN .075 offline mail reader. Minimally supports PGP internally. Part 5 of 14 yn075_6.uue YARN .075 offline mail reader. Minimally supports PGP internally. Part 6 of 14 yn075_7.uue YARN .075 offline mail reader. Minimally supports PGP internally. Part 7 of 14 yn075_8.uue YARN .075 offline mail reader. Minimally supports PGP internally. Part 8 of 14 yn075_9.uue YARN .075 offline mail reader. Minimally supports PGP internally. Part 9 of 14 yn075_10.uue YARN .075 offline mail reader. Minimally supports PGP internally. Part 10 of 14 yn075_11.uue YARN .075 offline mail reader. Minimally supports PGP internally. Part 11 of 14 yn075_12.uue YARN .075 offline mail reader. Minimally supports PGP internally. Part 12 of 14 yn075_13.uue YARN .075 offline mail reader. Minimally supports PGP internally. Part 13 of 14 yn075_14.uue YARN .075 offline mail reader. Minimally supports PGP internally. Part 14 of 14 ============================================================================== Interpretation is the revenge of the intellect upon art. - Susan Sontag ============================================================================== skaplin(a)skypoint.com | Finger skaplin(a)infinity.c2.org for | a listing of crypto related files PGP encrypted mail is accepted and | available on my auto-responder. preferred. | (Yes...the faqs are there!) | E-mail key(a)four11.com for PGP Key or | "...vidi vici veni" - Overheard Finger skaplin(a)mirage.skypoint.com | outside a Roman brothel. ============================================================================== -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAwUBLwepPslnXxBRSgfNAQFjuAf/YfaeENpC16siv7SB9rkg6x1SiM5aup6n GXQQXaXtPA1pxgLDhv6gOgt/Zy/1M6tTJ/4uU2ft1KDU8wHlVt2JiU3d9/9JweZM zbpDCqh0ucyfRht2V27WMfYYfTXUQ7yHiWIg9gf2ODqQcwMEu8kAwTYZxXFmXDQ+ 9Xxchw7VR4ZGTo3cnPoh0526yKGBbi9hBr0vCr/IkTGH4cgf3BfXIF8Eolu4hQY3 r6XwcBYskN5afd/fVKA1qRhLkI3X9nP4oBNlVxdSs2cwgabQ2hZsExwtCwvHMi3K zGWAwZkd1VNMX4rC+uUkuEOR0GB9OikcRYoU9vvKDSHO1n6amnQamQ== =eeBK -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: Exporting cryptographic materials, theory vs. practice
by Lile Elam 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

But what if that plane crashed... It's better to spread people out over several flights... -lile

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Re: Anonymous payment scheme
by rah＠shipwright.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 1:21 PM 1/2/95, Hal wrote: >I'm not sure what you do in this situation if they ask to see some ID >when you try to use the card. This would be rather embarrassing, it >seems to me. Sorry, I guess I left my drivers license in my other >pants... Or, never mind, try this card. That other one was from before I >changed my name... Why not, "It's a pseudonym."? Looks like an evangelistic opportunity to me. Pseudonyms can't be illegal, or Mark Twain and Bob Dylan would have written from prison. ;-). I also don't believe that you are legally required to produce ID for a credit card purchase. That was the point about those pictures on the front of Citibank cards. Citicorp did that to get around the legal restrictions on demanding ID to cope with the much larger issue of fraud. Most (smaller) vendors hardly check the signature on the back, much less validating it against a state ID, however. Hmmm. What if you produced a pseudonym card *with* your picture on the front? I smell a market opportunity. Or not... >And personally, I am more concerned about the >bank and gov't tracking my spending patterns than whether the guy I buy >gas from knowing my name. The bank has a lot more information about me >which is much more threatening to my privacy. A nom de guerre VISA or >debit card does not seem to help this problem. Indeed. Cheers, Bob Hettinga ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah(a)shipwright.com) "There is no difference between someone Shipwright Development Corporation who eats too little and sees Heaven and 44 Farquhar Street someone who drinks too much and sees Boston, MA 02331 USA snakes." -- Bertrand Russell (617) 323-7923

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Re: Why I have a 512 bit PGP key
by danisch＠ira.uka.de 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> A compiler can recognize one specific piece of code or a few > specific peices of code and do something perverse. It cannot > recognize functionally equivalent code, this > being a high order artificial intelligence problem. It's enough to recognize DES tables or PGP procedures. Hadmut

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