December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Sen. DiFi in the Merc 9/15 - Same old Same old
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- The SanJose Mercury News interviewed Senator Dianne Feinstein for today's paper. She gave a good answer on why encryption is im[prtant for protecting our privacy, then segued into why Law Enforcement needs access to it. Q:"Doesn't government control of encryption technology used by American citizens infringe on their constitutional rights? A:"No one is talking about intrusion on privacy rights".... telephone analogy... "Encryption is already being used by criminals, terrorists, and drug cartels. THe terrorists who bombed the World Trade Center had plans to blow up 11 American commercial airliners. Encrypted files detailing these plots were found on one of the terrorists' computers. Imagine the tragedies that might not be prevented if Law Enforcement officials are unable to decode encrypted files when necessary." Q on her district strongly wants encruption A: "California's high-technology industry is one of the most potent economic and technological forces in the world. The industry is being asked to develop this technology in a way that does not take away Law Enforcement's ability to protect public safety. People's safety must keep pace with new developments in technology or we will live to regret it. I understand the desire, the need even, for companies to be competitive in a world market. In this case, the industry is being asked to put people's safety ahead of their bottom line. It's that simple." - --- and much more rot along those lines. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP for Personal Privacy 5.0 Charset: noconv iQBVAwUBNB1dD/thU5e7emAFAQGv+gH+I71kgKcEpZ5Z93T33TFg/vyD5eUvXB+5 JC+HXwC7XTPtghW3ETB8h+GbtkOwumFpq0Xmd3a4xqaF+x4E+JIwUw== =dF+5 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- Thanks! Bill Bill Stewart, stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com Regular Key PGP Fingerprint D454 E202 CBC8 40BF 3C85 B884 0ABE 4639

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Attacking GAK--team effort assembling
by Michael Wilson 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Given that the U.S. and E.U. governments seem to be moving toward a policy of key escrow/recovery, 7Pillars Partners is starting a team effort to demonstrate the practical problems in implementing such a system. The plan is to have the team block out the probable design of the infrastructure, with as many of the options available outlined and discussed (e.g., 'escrow' itself--will a copy of the secret key need to be sent to the escrow agent, will it be created by the agent and assigned to the device, will the method be the use of two receiver keys (one packet to the intended party, one to the escrow agent), will the method be to implement a 'back door' into the cryptosystem itself), and then a thorough expansion on all possible methods of attack on the various elements of the infrastructure (denial, flooding, espionage, etc.). The intent of this project is two-fold: it will provide a practical guide that I hope will demonstrate that any key escrow/recovery system and infrastructure, no matter how secure/safe, will fall to attack; if such a system does end up being implemented and come into operation, the analysis will serve as a first-approximation guide for resistance. We could use a solid outside cryptographer, as well as an attorney to work through the probable legal elements involved in the system. Interest in being on the team should be indicated to: Michael Wilson, 5514706(a)mcimail.com or partners(a)7pillars.com MW http://www.7pillars.com/

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Wit Capital Update -- Unprecedented investment opportunities
by brandy＠witcapital.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Dear Investor: Some time ago, you expressed interest in taking part in the historic Internet public offering of Spring Street Brewing Company, the microbrewery I started in 1993. Since then, you may be aware that I started Wit Capital for pioneering the offering and trading of securities through the Internet. I`m pleased to tell you that Wit Capital is open for business and ready to accept your Membership. Wit Capital offers individual investors unprecedented first come, first serve access to investment opportunities and services Wall Street has long denied to individuals, such as IPOs of major underwriters at the offering price and venture capital offerings. We will also soon offer individual investors the opportunity to get better prices on the NASDAQ stocks they trade in our Digital Stock Market. When you become a Wit Capital Member, you will join a community of sophisticated investors dedicated to building wealth through long term commitment of their capital. Members of Wit Capital will also get basic brokerage services at deep discount rates as well as research, educational information and forums to talk to other Members. Membership is free and carries no obligation. Wit Capital does not employ commissioned brokers, so you will never be pressured to buy or sell anything. I urge you to learn more about Wit Capital and become a Member by visiting http://www.witcapital.com. Sincerely yours, Member NASD and SIPC Andrew Klein Founder Wit Capital Corp. P.S. Because of the high degree of risk associated with an investment in new issues, such investments are not suitable for all investors.

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InfoWar 11 / HTML
by Toto 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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Elliptic Curve library for visual basic
by James A. Donald 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

http://www.jim.com/jamesd/tools.htm The cryptographic extension to Visual Basic contained a gross error: I hope to reissue it with a fix in a couple of days, probably Thursday 20th of September, if all goes well. --------------------------------------------------------------------- | We have the right to defend ourselves | http://www.jim.com/jamesd/ and our property, because of the kind | of animals that we are. True law | James A. Donald derives from this right, not from the | arbitrary power of the state. | jamesd(a)echeque.com

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Re: House National Security committee guts SAFE, worse than no bill
by Peter D. Junger 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

CORRECTED MESSAGE [Adam Back has pointed out that I made a stupid mistake when I sent the original version of this message, in that I failed before sending it to delete some code, which Declan McCullagh had included in his message, as I had intended. I cannot reconstruct exactly how I came to make this mistake, but suspect that it had to do with the fact that at the time I sent it I was rushing to get to class and was having difficulty both with my connection to my office machine and with my monitor, which tends to flicker badly when someone uses a hair dryer or something like that in the building where I live. Here is what I had intended to send. Please correct your records accordingly. I regret any inconvenience my mistake may have caused.] ------Text of Corrected Message Adam Back writes: : : Declan McCullagh <declan(a)well.com> writes: : > : > I was talking to someone after a law class this evening (we're covering : > electronic privacy topics, but unfortunately we're not at crypto yet). He : > suggested widespread civil disobedience. : : Might I suggest using RSA in perl: [Adam Back's code for RSA in perl is deleted (but you can find it at <http://www.dcs.ex.ac.uk/~aba/rsa/> and in Declan's original message).] : which is now officially non-exportable (as reported by Peter Junger; : he asked for serveral code examples and this one was one of the : non-exportable ones). Short enough to make them look silly, short : enough that most people don't have qualms about quoting, or using as a : .sig. And they've committed themselves in writing to Peter Junger : that you're not allowed to export it. For the classification by the commerce department of the programs that my Legal Attack Team submitted, and for the applications, see <http://samsara.law.cwru.edu/comp_law/jvd/index.html>. It is unlikely that we will be seeking further classifications in connection with my suit, but it might be an interesting and useful project---not involving civil disobedience---for some of you. It would be interesting to see exactly which encryption programs the bureaucrats classify as encryption programs, and which they don't. It would also be interesting to see if they give the same classifications in response to requests by those who are not suing them. I must, however, warn you that it is not an easy project. It cannot be done by e-mail and you have to get numbered forms from Commerce Department on which the applications must be submitted. In fact, the difficulty of applying for a classification or a license is one of the many reasons for concluding that the export restrictions on cryptography violate the United States Constitution. It would certainly be helpful if it turned out that that Commerce cannot or will not respond promptly to classification requests made by would-be publishers of cryptographic software who are neither commercial publishers nor suing to enjoin the enforcement of the regulations. -- Peter D. Junger--Case Western Reserve University Law School--Cleveland, OH EMAIL: junger(a)samsara.law.cwru.edu URL: http://samsara.law.cwru.edu NOTE: junger(a)pdj2-ra.f-remote.cwru.edu no longer exists

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Re: GAK will probably be economically impossible
by jf_avon＠citenet.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On 15 Sep 97 at 10:19, Robert Hettinga wrote: > In fact, even if all transactions remain book-entry ones, the exploding > total transaction volume and competition to make those transactions > efficient will make GAK economically impossible, because it provides no > tangible benefit to those who use cryptography for business. There's no > economic return on the additional cost. > > The cost of anything is the foregone alternative, and the cost of GAK > causes you to forego a lot of money and potential revenue and doesn't buy > you anything in return. In the long term, you are right. But taxation doesn't buy much in return that you couldn't buy by yourself either but they still do it... But again, the incentives are differents from their standpoint... Ciao jfa

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Re: US dissident in Sweden
by Peter Trei 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> Date: Mon, 15 Sep 1997 18:51:46 -0700 > To: Asgaard <asgaard(a)cor.sos.sll.se>, cypherpunks(a)toad.com > From: Martin Minow <minow(a)apple.com> > Subject: Re: US dissident in Sweden > Reply-to: Martin Minow <minow(a)apple.com> > At 2:06 AM +0200 9/16/97, Asgaard wrote: > >The Dagens Nyheter reported yesterday that a US citizen, > >Mr Ritt Goldstein, is in Sweden asking for political asylum. > ... > >The latest crypto policy news here says that Sweden will not > >go along will mandatory GAK. ... > > I wouldn't count on Sweden as a haven for strong crypto or, > in particular, untraceable anonymity. Also, the Swedish national > police have quite a few skeletons in their closet with respect > to personal integrity (look for references to IB, the > "Information Bureau" or read the entire series of Sjovall/Wahloo > "Martin Beck" novels.) > Martin Minow > minow(a)apple.com It's hard to call; the Swedes do have an independent streak, at least at the national level. They're not in NATO, and have an independent defence, like Switzerland. They maintained (with mixed success) neutrality during WW2. When I lived there (65-68', I was a kid), there was a strong and popular anti-American sentiment, mostly based in opposition to the Vietnam war. US deserters were given asylum, and I was taught to identify myself as Canadian if the situation seemed appropriate (the US embassy was bombed during my stay - made a mess of the front hallway). Peter Trei trei(a)process.com Peter Trei Senior Software Engineer Purveyor Development Team Process Software Corporation http://www.process.com trei(a)process.com

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(Fwd) Cuban terrorist used encrypted phone (fwd)
by Charles Anthony 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Date: Tue, 16 Sep 1997 10:31:46 -0400 To: fight-censorship(a)vorlon.mit.edu From: Scott Carr <scarr(a)bgnet.bgsu.edu> Subject: Cuban terrorist used encrypted phone Sender: owner-fight-censorship(a)vorlon.mit.edu I just heard this on CNN. Apparently, the Cuban government has arrested an alleged terrorist for several hotel bombings. They clain he was hired by Anti-Castro forces in the US. Now, for the relavant part for the list; the Cubans also claim to have tapes of encrypted telephone conversations between the bomber and his backers. I do not know if the tapes are in the clear of not. Nice to know that law enforcement can still make arrests even when nasty, bad, encryption is being used. I wonder if the Cubans asked the US Governemnt for any keys.... (I wonder if there had been escrowed keys, if the US Government would have given them to Cuba.) ----- End of forwarded message from Scott Carr -----

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Re: (Fwd) Cuban terrorist used encrypted phone (fwd)
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Tim May wrote: > At 3:36 AM -0700 9/16/97, Charles Anthony wrote: > >From: Scott Carr <scarr(a)bgnet.bgsu.edu> > > I just heard this on CNN. Apparently, the Cuban government has arrested > >an alleged terrorist for several hotel bombings. They clain he was hired > >by Anti-Castro forces in the US. Now, for the relavant part for the list; > Ah, but he is not a "terrorist," then. Being hired by anti-Castro forces in > the United States automatically makes him a "freedom fighter." He's only a > terrorist if he works for Oceania, er, Eastasia, er, whomever we don't > currently like. > > Had he blown up a Cuban airliner, as CIA-supported forces did a while back, > he would still be a freedom fighter. Had he sent a package of pamphlets to > Hamas to aid in their struggle against the Zionist occupiers, he would be a > terrorist. Had he said, "Nuke Havana.", he would be a freedom fighter. Had he said, "Nuke D.C.", he would be a Freeh->Dumb Fighter. TruthMonger

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