December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

THE FRONT PAGE
by Phillip M. Hallam-Baker 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I've edited this down, for fair use reasons, you can get the idea... Worth subscribing to this paper BTW. > The Electronic Telegraph Thursday 16 November 1995 The Front Page > > [The Front Page] > > 'Black Baron' computer virus writer jailed for 18 months > > By Robert Uhlig, Technology Correspondent > > Devils in disguise that preyed on computers > > [Image] THE man who wrote computer viruses which could cause millions of > > pounds of damage, was jailed for 18 months yesterday. > > Christopher Pile, who called himself the Black Baron, not only spread his own > viruses, Exeter Crown Court was told, but also distributed across the world his > program which let other hackers disguise their own viruses. > The viruses have made the "Black Baron" notorious among British companies. > Microprose estimated it lost up to £500,000 and used more than 480 staff hours > checking more than a million files. The computer firm Apricot had to shut down > and check many of its machines. It found that 22 out of 60 had been infected by > Pathogen. -- Phillip M. Hallam-Baker Not speaking for anoyone else hallam(a)w3.org http://www.w3.org/hypertext/WWW/People/hallam.html Information Superhighway -----> Hi-ho! Yow! I'm surfing Arpanet!

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Re: ALERT: On Monday, call Congress to stop Big Brother amendment!
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I just got off a phone with an industry lobbyist. The conversation went something like this. "Can there be a compromise?" I asked. "I don't think there can be one that will satisfy all three or four parties involved." (I was thinking: law enforcement, national security, business, and privacy interests.) The answer: "I don't think compromise is the right word. But we need to give something to law enforcement." -Declan

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Professional interview wanted for report
by byerr＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hi. I'm a freshman at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Virginia. I am writing a (general) report on cryptography for school, and I was wondering if anyone on this list that works with cryptography in their job would be able to give me a short interview over email. Thanks a lot! -- Ben Byer byerr(a)netcom.com I am not a bushing GCS d-- s: a--- C++ UL++++ P++ L++ E+ W+ N++ o K-- w-- !O M-- !V !PS !PE Y+(++) PGP t+ 5 !X R tv(+) DI+ G e- h! r !y

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Re: NSA, ITAR, NCSA and plug-in hooks.
by Rich Salz 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>are specifically designed for the insertion of cryptographic materials, >or is it the fact that they could be used to support cryptographic >enhancements? Everything is decided on a case-by-case basis. I was in a meeting with some NSA export-control people (Dept Z03) and asked a few questions on this topic trying to nail down the angle of this slipper slope. Basically, generic buffer-manipulation is okay. "Keyed compression" where you explicitly passed something called a key to a DLL routine would be looked on suspiciously. An abstract set of open/modify/close routines (where open returned a pointer to opaque state, say a session key :) would be fine. The technical guy quickly grasped that I was talking about anonymous remailers, but they "conceded" there's nothing they can do about it. I say "concede" because that implies more political/control-issues then were really present at the meeting. /r$

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Re: New Computer Security Act
by Blanc 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Tim May wrote: >I doubt Clinton will be at the Fort Meade HQ for a ceremony, as he's on his >way to Stanford, where both of us will, amazingly enough, be tomorrow. Wish >me luck! ................................................. If you will both be there, I wish Clinton luck. But I missed the post wherein you explained what your visit to Stanford is about? .. Blanc

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Need advice on video
by combee＠techwood.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hello, fellow cypherpunks. This is my first post here on the global CP list, although I've been working with the just-reformed Austin chapter for the last couple of months. Us Austinites are working on a video for public access television on cryptography. We are looking at a one-hour format, similar to a science program, that will introduce cryptography, its history, the basic ideas of modern crypto, and what applications there are for it today and in the future. Now, this might turn into a series, but for now, we are concentrating on the overview episode. What I'm fishing for here are any suggestions for ways to present some of this content in an interesting video setting. We've already decided on doing some algorithm animation, and maybe some simple moving graphics illustrating the various protocols. Any ideas you might have would be appreciated. BTW, once we finish this and show it locally, we are considering doing some duplication to send out to interested bodies. Do you think there is demand for a good, clear intro to all this in video form? Thanks, -- eebmoC .L nimajneB | Benjamin L. Combee (REVERSE) gro.doowhcet@eebmoc | combee(a)techwood.org (ENGINEERING) \eebmoc\ten.kay.www\\:ptth | http://www.yak.net/combee/ (RESERVE)

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politics aren't all or nothing
by Mark Hedges 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- My problem with the "it's hopeless, politicians are idiots" approach is the same as my problem with Tim May's approach --- it predisposes one to think that a revolution and possibly violence are the only way to change the laws. It is an attitude which constructs an obstacle which may or may not be there. I get really sick of the inane "nuke DC" talk. Call me a naive optimist, or an idiot; I believe there's hope to wage and win the battle politically, and I think there's actually hope for real democracy without the memetics bullshit and the control and the manipulation. I got a personal reply from a Senator to whom I sent that last release (the one interviewing Michael Wilson of 7Pillars). It wasn't one of those autoresponders -- it just said "Thank you for your views" with bad text formatting. At least it did get someone's attention. It might be negative attention, but dammit, if they're going to look Wilson's reputation in the face and not at least consider that they might be wrong then they've obviously all been killed and government programmed clones installed in their place. They're really well educated people, for the most part --- somewhere along the line they must have gotten that stuff about "considering that you are incorrect" and the rest. While skimming their web pages looking for information, I found one or two senators and congress reps who actually offer PGP keys on their web pages! Senator Leahy, for one, is a vocal proponent of strong crypto. There is hope! Some of those people do see "the light" on this issue. It's a matter of getting the heavy-handed ones to just for a second consider the other side's view. I think this particular release hits hard because shit, Wilson's the virtual incarnation of Ares, and the warmongers may listen to him. I think a lot of them know they're being manipulated, but they get only a limited set of information from the "authoritative" defense and intelligence people who give them the "secret classified briefings", and they simply can't confront the spooks because they think they'd get kicked from their positions of power in a few years. If they have in their possession a testimony that a defense and intelligence _scholar_ says that the spooks are wrong, they may be able to start turning the tide. Mostly, I just don't want to get nuked. I don't want the people in Washington to get nuked. I don't want to be ostracized because a disjointed group I'm associated with has members who support nuking political opponents. "Nuke DC" is crap. "Ecash Assassination Politics" is crap. The loss of faith in one's ability to convince other people with rational discussion is crap. That whole attitude reminds me of the guys in early grade school who beat up on me because I was a nerd. I refuse to sink to their level. Mark Hedges -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBNCGn+hVo2SUWMp6NAQH7lwP/dEWDmzEgx9LEs3m68KGWcKNGVUCSjFjd qOjkBKQQo9Ib+8CefheigwRPXh8J5s4aBJPDVvJbTnvJJ2F7Olr1VpvmhzDwMt8g A99iSuvn/Dn7cJUmcc5M9aeVhRtXFcl0LRsfOiHQO4eGXia3fWA6BM1pAybIzHAp 4sj8MyE+ZpM= =8r8K -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Need to get your shop setup before friday?
by sameer 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

If you need to get your shop setup before Friday, and don't have the time yourself to figure out how to install the CGI things, etc. Community ConneXion can do it for you, at our standard CGI web design rate. Call me at the number below, or page 510-321-1014. -- sameer Voice: 510-601-9777 Community ConneXion FAX: 510-601-9734 The Internet Privacy Provider Dialin: 510-658-6376 http://www.c2.org/ (or login as "guest") sameer(a)c2.org

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Re: credit card conventional wisdom
by wiltship＠iccu6.ipswich.gil.com.au 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Gidday Greg You wrote.. >Most consumer-level transactions are based on a general sort of >trust-in-human-nature sort of policy, backed up by the knowledge that a single >failed transaction (or even a constant low level of failed transactions, where >failed == "didn't get paid but gave the stuff away") isn't likely to kill off >a business or even make it unprofitable. Failed transactions are more likely to affect consumer confidence than trader confidence. I have yet to find a site on the net where goods are shipped before receiving payment, therefore the 'at risk' party is the buyer. Cybertraders will need to establish a level of credibility and reliability on a par with their terrestrial cousins. Cyberbuyers will need to be confident in their ability to call upon yet unwritten international laws to gain a refund or replacement when goods and services don't arrive as advertised. BTW do you want to buy a really big rock way out in the middle of nowhere? [:>) cheers Peter -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMKsP0uvjRao+WEx9AQGq5wP9EicYrEbW3wDoLZ8FcPSvp9b9qk3GhoQH H7pmHq3OvXr++DZHZqqzL2whvz24BvEA4DQ0mwPa1Te9EtIn/VGqbdv2UO23iI9H ysGX80T3wokORgKay157KC70aykgiafpHYb0t+hQxClN2FY/jTA5FiheGTaNERQc UkhP+wOg7zY= =qewX -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- Flight to Quality Wiltshire Productions Pty Ltd Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Intl Voice 61 7 3376 3535 Intl Fax 61 7 3279 4027 Email wiltship(a)gil.com.au PGP Key ID 3E584C7D PGP Fingerprint 01 03 FB F4 BE F8 2B F3 5D 84 6B 69 37 80 FE 10

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Re: Java & Netscape security [NOISE]
by Rich Salz 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

><plonk>! I'm so tired of listening to this no-researching, ... Why do people some to insist on telling the list when the killfile someone? Overall, isn't that just adding to the crap one has to sift through? /r$

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