December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Anti-porn conference in Manila
by rishab＠dxm.ernet.in 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The Religious Alliance Against Pornography has been holding a biggish conference in Manila; the focus is on child pornography, and a major topic of discussion is the evil of electronic networks. The Interpol is among those participating; the head of their kiddie-porn division claims Britain is the source of most European stuff, and bemoans the fact that too little is spent on monitoring traffic, as the war against drugs is considered more important. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rishab Aiyer Ghosh "In between the breaths is rishab(a)dxm.ernet.in the space where we live" rishab(a)arbornet.org - Lawrence Durrell Voice/Fax/Data +91 11 6853410 Voicemail +91 11 3760335 H 34C Saket, New Delhi 110017, INDIA

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UN passes Information Super-Highway Beautification Resolution
by plaz＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

In regards to Tim's Internetpol comment: I wrote this back in april: ________________________________________________________________________________ Headline: Emergency Beautification of the InfoBahn UN Press Conference, April 8, 1996 UN Spokesperson Lance Rotweiler announced today that the "Information Super-Highway Beautification Resolution" had been passed in an Emergency Session of the UN Security Council. The resolution sets decency standards for electronic communications and grants broad powers to Interpol for enforcement of these standards. "There's a new sheriff in town," Rotweiler said. "It's time for child-pornographers, perverts and cryptoanarchists to get off the net. For too long, we have been allowing these sodomists to creep into our living rooms and seduce our children through the information highway. It's time to clean up." The resolution also calls for a ban on non-escrowed cryptography for personal communications and anonymous communications, which Rotweiler says is often used to conceal criminal and immoral activity. "Enforcement of the resolution has already begun," Rotweiler stated. "In Canada this morning, a warrant was issued for the arrest of a hacker who has blocked the removal of various usenet groups that advocate illegal and immoral activities, such as alt.sex.bestiality and alt.sex.bondage. We do regret that the individual chose to resist arrest and was shot under the mistaken assumption that he was armed, but as you know these groups were available to the average nine year old with a remote. You mess with our kids, and you deserve what you get." [Editors Note: The hacker, Brian Lee of Toronto Canada, was brandishing a mini-vac commonly used for cleaning computer keyboards, while shouting obscenities. The arresting officers mistook this appliance for a pistol and opened fire. Brian Lee is survived by a wife and 2.5 children. See related story "Pornography Accomplice Dies in Shoot-out"] "New operations are planned for the newly created branch of Interpol, which we are calling 'InfoPol'," Rotwieler continued. When asked whether the 'InfoPol' had world-wide jurisdiction, Rotweiler responded, "Yes, but certain holdouts in the community of nations are refusing to accept this. Most notably, Bolivia, Belize and Western Samoa, nations which make their stock and trade dealing with the criminal element. We expect these nations to come around, as the resolution calls for economic sanctions against those countries that refuse to cooperate in this great venture." End Note: When stepping away from the podium, Rotweiler was heard to mumble, "This ought to get her tentacles in a knot." When asked to explain this comment the UN spokeperson declared the press conference to be at an end. ________________________________________________________________________________ Geoff Dale | Mail me -> mailto:plaz@netcom.com AnarchyPPL Anarch | Visit me -> http://io.com/user/plaz/ Plastic Beethoven | Hire me -> http://io.com/user/plaz/rez.html plaz(a)netcom.com |AnarchyPPL Charter -> http://io.com/user/plaz/AnarchyPPL.html ________________________________________________________________________________ Do have nasty meme infestations? Well then, you need new Meme-Away! The most effective memicide spray on the market. *Now with extra CFCs*

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CIAC Advisory on Net Threat
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

CIAC has issued its Advisory Notice F-08, dated today, 11:00 PST, on the Net security threat described by Markoff, titled: Internet Address Spoofing and Hijacked Session Attacks For those not subscribed to CIAC who want a copy: Send blank message with subject: CIAC_f08 Anybody want to force me to post it to the list? It's about 12K, including subscription info for CIAC. I really hate fire. Silencio is gelt.

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CNN on "New threat to the net."
by Samuel Kaplin 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I just had CNN on for background noise. They did a one minute piece on a new threat to the internet. HACKERS. Bizdos for some reason was on it and they went slightly into why transmitting credit card numbers as plain text was stupid. Their estimate is that encryption is at least five years away. Just amazing... BTW- they recommended that everyone install routers to hinder hackers. Check it out...it was on headline news so it probably will be repeated every half hour. Sam

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Pseudo-anon Ecash with GAK -- Sandia Proposal
by L. McCarthy 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

While browsing through the program for the 6th annual ACM-SIAM SODA (http://www.netlib.org/confdb/soda95/prog.html) which concludes today in SF, I noticed the following scheduled for this morning: 8:55 Trustee-based Tracing Extensions to Anonymous Cash and the Making of Anonymous Change Ernie Brickell, Peter Gemmell and David Kravitz, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque I haven't been able to find a pointer to an actual paper, but I did find an abstract of sorts at http://www.cs.sandia.gov/HPCCIT/el_cash.html. Their proposal purports to elaborate the notion of GAK ("key escrow") to cover an otherwise-anonymous ecash system, according to my reading of this. Caveat emptor. Here's an extended excerpt of the doublespeech: "We introduce the first electronic cash system that incorporates trustee-based tracing, while provably protecting user anonymity. This effort expands on provably anonymous electronic cash systems. Our system maintains completely provable user anonymity with the exception that, only with the cooperation of several publicly appointed trustees (e.g. key-escrow agents), the government can trace a user's spending with certainty, determining to whom the user gave his/her money and how much s/he gave. The trustees can answer the question of whether a particular payment was made by a particular user, without revealing any additional information. This allows for authorized forward and backward tracing that does not impinge on the privacy of anyone other than the parties of the one transaction in question. Some of our trustee-based tracing require no tamper-resistant hardware, and all can be implemented as either on-line or off-line systems." Electronic cash is a subject of great economic, political, and research importance. With advances in computer networks, in processor speed, and in databases, and with advances in note counterfeiting technology and with both individuals' and businesses' desire for remote and more convenient financial transactions, some forms of electronic cash are likely to become widespread within 5 to 10 years. Although unconditionally anonymous electronic cash systems have been proposed in the literature, governmental and financial institutions are unwilling to back a completely anonymous system. Their reasons for opposing complete untraceability have to do with the containment of user fraud and the desire to restrict the new kinds of crime that unrestricted, remotely withdrawable, and spendable electronic cash could facilitate. Because of the necessary concern over crime control, they have previously proposed systems with little or no protection for the users' privacy. Our system provides the capability required by government for crime control while maintaining privacy for all other users." -L. Futplex McCarthy; PGP key by finger or server; I'm seeking an internship/ job for summer 1995 --- BS CS Cornell / 2 yrs. MS-level work in algebraic algorithms, Ph.D. planned --- send private email for resume etc.

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New anonymous remailer.
by Craig A. Johnston 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Ok, I'm happy to announce a new anonymous remailer, the Tower Anonymous Remailer, at remailer(a)tower.techwood.org Standard cpunks remailer, installed from the remailer installation script 1.01 from ftp.csua.berkeley.edu, supporting pgp. Here's the server's public key, which I have submitted to io.com: -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.2 mQBNAy8iqAQAAAECALHjiFPr7Is0NptniDkYJ9UnRFM3Pn9Lz7mrPd58uo/EPMF5 bm3TjfAmdMlw2oBTtm7Ch3dsfBY44XEEwzVRkb0ABRG0NlRvd2VyIEFub255bW91 cyBSZW1haWxlciA8cmVtYWlsZXJAdG93ZXIudGVjaHdvb2Qub3JnPg== =Rfb5 -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Response times should be good. (Note that my network's connection to the backbone is being changed in the next few days, and this may affect things in the meantime.) Anyplace else I should submit the key for maximal exposure? How might I go about being added to the "ping list" ? -- Craig Johnston caj(a)tower.techwood.org

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DOJ Computer Seizure Guidelines
by bart＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Seen on comp.society.privacy. This document was obtained by an FOIA suit by EPIC. I ftp'd from the cpsr.org but even at 2:30 a.m. PST the 315 Kbytes took an excruciating 481 seconds. For those on netcom its on /ftp/pub/ba/bart easily available, if others can get through to ftp.netcom.com at least the transfer might be faster than cpsr. Encrypted information is dealt with on pps 54-55 in particular. I'll leave conclusions to our lawyerly types.

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Here's what will happen to U.S. based remailers
by Brad Dolan 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I just got a call. Supposedly Clinton just pulled an executive order out of his navel last night, confiscating the assets of 12 "terrorist groups" and 18 disfavored people. CNN is reporting a few of the names, but not all. The ones they mention are associated with groups like "Islamic Jihad". These groups are hard to defend, but if he can do it to them today, he can do it to you tomorrow. My old German acquaintance says that Hitler used to do this, issuing midnight decrees to seize property, make new prohibitions, etc. I assume that the Republican congress approves of what Bill is doing, or they would be impeaching him. After November 8, I thought we had a couple of years of breathing room. Now, I'm not so sure.

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Australian Constitution (and more) on FTP
by rishab＠dxm.ernet.in 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

dave(a)esi.com.au > Obviously - it's handy having an on-line copy of the Australian > Constitution. Anyone want a copy? I don't run an FTP site. I posted something to this effect ages ago: ftp://wiretap.spies.com/Gov/World/australia.con The same directory contains constitutions and charters of many countries, from China to Slovakia, as well as the covenant of the Hamas, and the Magna Carta. Other useful data on Wiretap include various UN documents, international charters and treaties, and loads of (particularly US, but also other) legislation. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rishab Aiyer Ghosh "In between the breaths is rishab(a)dxm.ernet.in the space where we live" rishab(a)arbornet.org - Lawrence Durrell Voice/Fax/Data +91 11 6853410 Voicemail +91 11 3760335 H 34C Saket, New Delhi 110017, INDIA

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Re: LOCKSMITH'S GUILD WANTS L
by Mark Grant 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On Wed, 25 Jan 1995, Charles Bell wrote: > how do > we ensure that those skyscrapers don't fall down on us? That the surgeon > who is going to open me up knows something about surgery? That my money > is at least somewhat safe in the bank? With non-government reptutation and certification agencies. Currently the government is saying 'there shall be one certification agency and it shall be us', whereas personally if I were hiring someone to design a skyscraper or cut me open I'd much prefer to pick someone who had a good rating from three or four independent agencies. The only difference is that you would have the choice of choosing someone cheap who didn't have a good reputation, not that we'd give up on them altogether (see the numerous past discussions of reputations etc on the list, and the Cyphernomicon). > ....once we get past what seems to be your utter refusal to consider > the possibility that government could ever do anything right .... Another thing to consider is that the government monopoly has a lot less to lose by certifying people incorrectly than a commercial agency would. The government's reputation is low enough already that such errors won't affect it significantly, whereas a commercial agency would lose a lot of custom to its competitors. Mark

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