December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

No Subject
by Julian Assange 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>From smtpd Fri Dec 6 03:03:59 1996 Return-Path: <owner-foreignc(a)presence.lglobal.com> Received: (from smtpd@localhost) by suburbia.net (8.8.3/8.8.2) id DAA08167 for <proff(a)suburbia.net>; Fri, 6 Dec 1996 03:03:59 +1100 (EST) Received: from presence.lglobal.com(207.107.12.2) via SMTP by suburbia.net, id smtpd008159; Thu Dec 5 16:03:41 1996 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by presence.lglobal.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id PAA02103 for foreignc-outgoing; Thu, 5 Dec 1996 15:43:37 GMT Received: from presence.lglobal.com (jessepub(a)presence.lglobal.com [207.107.12.2]) by presence.lglobal.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) with SMTP id KAA02097 for <foreignc(a)lglobal.com>; Thu, 5 Dec 1996 10:43:34 -0500 Date: Thu, 5 Dec 1996 15:43:33 +0000 (GMT) From: Local GlobalPublishing <jessepub(a)lglobal.com> To: foreignc(a)lglobal.com Subject: ForeignCorrespondent REVENGE OF HER MAJESTY'S SPOOKS Message-ID: <Pine.BSI.3.93.961205154318.2075A-100000(a)presence.lglobal.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Precedence: bulk Reply-To: emargolis(a)lglobal.com Sender: proff Foreign Correspondent Inside Track On World News By International Syndicated Columnist & Broadcaster Eric Margolis <emargolis(a)lglobal.com> ,,ggddY"""Ybbgg,, ,agd888b,_ "Y8, ___`""Ybga, ,gdP""88888888baa,.""8b "888g, ,dP" ]888888888P' "Y `888Yb, ,dP" ,88888888P" db, "8P""Yb, ,8" ,888888888b, d8888a "8, ,8' d88888888888,88P"' a, `8, ,8' 88888888888888PP" "" `8, d' I88888888888P" `b 8 `8"88P""Y8P' 8 8 Y 8[ _ " 8 8 "Y8d8b "Y a 8 8 `""8d, __ 8 Y, `"8bd888b, ,P `8, ,d8888888baaa ,8' `8, 888888888888' ,8' `8a "8888888888I a8' `Yba `Y8888888P' adP' "Yba `888888P' adY" `"Yba, d8888P" ,adP"' `"Y8baa, ,d888P,ad8P"' ``""YYba8888P""'' REVENGE OF HER MAJESTY'S SPOOKS by Eric Margolis 5 Dec 1996 Comrade-in-Chief Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev banged his fist onto a solid oak table, knocking over bottles of Armenian mineral water and vodka, and bellowed at the ashen-faced chiefs of the Soviet aircraft industry: `The Motherland's honor is a stake. Beat the Concorde! Or you will all be designing coal mines cars in Siberia!' Such is the story I'm told by someone who was there. I'm recalling these events now because a group of US aircraft companies and NASA have partnered with Russia's Tupelov aircraft firm to take the old TU-144 supersonic transports out of mothballs and fly 32 test flights. My advice to the eager US aviation people is: watch the tests from the ground. Here's why: In the late 1950's and early 1960's, the Soviets were boasting they would shortly overtake America's capitalist technology. Soviet propaganda dismissed France as a nation of foppish boulevardiers, and Britain as a degenerate, toothless old lion. The `degenerate' British and French stunned and mortified Moscow by announcing development of a supersonic jet transport, made with European technology. The outcome of this project was the exquisite, technologically superb Concorde, which continues today to fly passengers at twice the speed of sound. The Kremlin ordered a crash program to develop a Soviet supersonic transport, or SST, no matter the cost. The famous Tupelov design bureau was selected to develop the plane, by `storming,' if necessary, 24-hours a day, until completion. Unfortunatly, Tupelov designers couldn't develop a workable design in the short time given them by the Kremlin. So KGB was ordered to steal the blueprints of the Concorde. A score of KGB agents were dispatched to England and France in a highly complex and expensive mission designed to infiltrate plants where the Concorde was being built. Such military-industrial spying is often used by nations trying to save time, money, or both. Agents of Israel's Mossad, for example, managed to steal the complete blueprints of the French Mirage III fighter after Paris refused to supply them to Israel. Now comes the fun part- as told to me by the late, distinguished RAF commander, Air Marshall Menaul. British counter-intelligence, MI5, according to Menaul, learned of the Soviet penetration and identified many of the agents whose haste, and deviation from KGB standard operating procedures, made them sloppy. The wicked British got their top aviation engineers to doctor a set of Concorde plans - so that the aircraft's center of gravity was too far aft, making it dangerously unstable, particularly at low speeds. The bogus drawings were left where they could be purloined by the KGB. A few days later, the tainted plans were in Moscow. On Dec 31, 1968, the TU-144 - instantly dubbed `Conkordski'- made its maiden flight - a few days before the Concorde's inaugural flight. Chairman Brezhnev was ecstatic. In 1973, the Soviets triumphantly sent their TU-144 to the Paris Air Show. There,. before the world's eyes, the `Conkordski' went out of control and crashed. The horrified Soviets became the butt of international ridicule. Another TU-144 crashed outside Moscow in 1978. From 'pride of Soviet aviation,' the poor TU-144 soon was called, `the supersonic coffin.' A few were put into Moscow-Tashkent service, first flying terrified passengers, then just mail. The `Conkordski' were taken out of service in 1978 after the second spectacular accident. I'm sure many toasts were drunken that night in London at MI5 headquarters. The new TU-144 flights are being conducted with the Americans to develop a future, 300-passenger SST. Tupelov has refurbished some of the aircraft, but I'm uncertain if the basic design flaw introduced by Her Majesty's spooks has been corrected. Probably not, leaving the Conkordski lethally wobbly. Such is the revenge of British intelligence, served up cold and lethal - as the best revenge always is. copyright eric margolis 1996 ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** --------------------------------------------------------------- To receive Foreign Correspondent via email send a note to Majordomo(a)lglobal.com with the message in the body: subscribe foreignc To get off the list, send to the same address but write: unsubscribe foreignc WWW: www.bigeye.com/foreignc.htm For Syndication Information please contact: Email: emargolis(a)lglobal.com FAX: (416) 960-4803 Smail: Eric Margolis c/o Editorial Department The Toronto Sun 333 King St. East Toronto Ontario Canada M5A 3X5 ---------------------------------------------------------------

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W3C Picks PICS for Censorship
by stewarts＠ix.netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>> W3C ISSUES PICS AS A RECOMMENDATION; PICS READY FOR WIDESPREAD ADOPTION; ENABLING USERS TO FILTER INTERNET CONTENT WITHOUT CENSORSHIP - The World Wide Web Consortium today endorsed the Platform for Internet Content Selection specifications as a W3C Recommendation. This Recommendation represents the W3C's highest "Stamp of Approval." It signifies that PICS specifications are stable ... [Business Wire, 854 words] # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart, +1-415-442-2215 stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # You can get PGP outside the US at ftp.ox.ac.uk # (If this is posted to cypherpunks, I'm currently lurking from fcpunx, # so please Cc: me on replies. Thanks.)

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Microsoft & Key Escrow
by Blake Coverett 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Following are some of the relevent snippets from http://www.microsoft.com/intdev/security/export/exporfaq-f.htm. The comments in square brackets are mine. ---cut here--- What is Microsoft's position on supporting key escrow? Key escrow encryption is not a market-driven solution and it raises serious privacy concerns for many customers. It is also new, undeveloped, untested, and uncosted, and it will take a long time to be worked out. Additionally, customers have expressed hesitation about mandatory key escrow, especially if they have to give the keys to the government or a government-selected third party. Therefore, we are not actively adding support for key escrow in our products and technologies. [About as good as we can ask for. I would, however, like that last sentence better if the word 'actively' was missing.] Shouldn't the U.S. government be able to access information that could prevent terrorist acts and crime? Strong non-key escrow encryption is already available from retail outlets, foreign companies, and off the Internet. Thus the U.S. government is already having--and will continue to have--a harder time in the future accessing plain text regardless of U.S. export restrictions. [I suppose it would be too much to expect a third sentence reading. 'This is a good thing.'] What is key recovery? How does it relate to key escrow? Market-driven data recovery refers to a product feature that allows users to maintain a spare private encryption key in a safe place. Generally, a data recovery system escrows a copy of the session key with the message or file and the user (or perhaps his employer) controls the decision whether to utilize this feature. With key escrow the U.S. government holds or has access to a user's private encryption key. It is not yet clear whether such systems are exportable. In the October 1 announcement, the U.S. government referred to "key recovery" without defining it; in all likelihood, however, they still have in mind government key escrow, and not market-driven data recovery. [Hmm... it's just possible that Microsoft's spin doctors are better than those of the US government. Perhaps they can sell the world on their definition of 'key recovery' instead of the one we know the TLAs intended.] ---cut here--- regards, -Blake

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NEWS.COM Dispatch, Dec. 4, 1996
by The CNET newsletter 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

**************************************** NEWS.COM DISPATCH Wednesday, December 4, 1996 San Francisco, California, USA *************************************** WELCOME! *************************************** NEWS.COM DISPATCH summarizes the up-to-the minute technology news presented by NEWS.COM. It tempts readers with coverage of today's hottest stories, news in the making, (in)credible rumors, and other indispensable information. For complete versions of the stories updated all day long, head over to: http://www.news.com/?nd *************************************** SCOOPS AND TOP STORIES Gore gets an earful from cybermoguls on encryption policy Steve Jobs tells tech crowd, "It's the content, stupid!" Microsoft's Ballmer takes verbal digs at NC-happy competitors ANNOUNCEMENTS An easy way for you to customize NEWS.COM Send us your questions, comments, flotsam, and jetsam How to subscribe and unsubscribe *************************************** SCOOPS AND TOP STORIES GORE GETS AN EARFUL FROM CYBERMOGULS ON ENCRYPTION POLICY Al Gore, the ultimate information highway cheerleader, won't like what he sees in his in-box: stern criticism of the White House's encryption policy. The Business Software Alliance's letter says Bill and Al are heading in the "absolute wrong direction." But giving is better than receiving (it is, after all, the holidays), and the industry group offers five ways out of the morass. http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C5909%2C00.html?nd STEVE JOBS TELLS TECH CROWD, "IT'S THE CONTENT, STUPID!" The man who helped launch the computer revolution of the 1980s is now exhorting creative types to take their rightful place at the digital table. Citing blockbuster films Toy Story, Jobs preached that only the combination of technology AND creativity will get the consumers' juices flowing. http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C5913%2C00.html?nd MICROSOFT'S BALLMER TAKES VERBAL DIGS AT NC HAPPY COMPETITORS Perhaps you thought Microsoft was worried, or at least cranky, about all the predictions Ellison and company have been making about the network computer dethroning the PC as machine du jour? Not at all. In fact, says Steve Ballmer, "it's fantastic!" http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C5896%2C00.html?nd *************************************** ANNOUNCEMENTS AN EASY WAY FOR YOU TO CUSTOMIZE NEWS.COM So many bits, so little time? Sounds like you need Custom News. Identify topics, keywords, or sections you're interested in, and Custom News will a create a page of headlines and summaries for stories matching your criteria. Check it out at: http://www.news.com/Personalization/Entry/1%2C21%2C%2C00.html?nocache=1 SEND US QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, FLOTSAM, AND JETSAM If you have any questions, suggestions or remarks, send us a message: newsdispatch(a)cnet.com HOW TO SUBSCRIBE AND TO UNSUBSCRIBE To subscribe to News Dispatch: Send mail to listserv(a)dispatch.cnet.com with the message: subscribe news-dispatch (your name) in the message body. To unsubscribe send the message: signoff news-dispatch *************************************** CNET: The Computer Network http://www.cnet.com/ http://www.news.com/ http://www.gamecenter.com/ http://www.download.com/ http://www.search.com/ http://www.shareware.com/

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I would like to get on the mailing list
by Lee Elder 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I don't know anything about this subject but I do know it's a must because of what's happening in the country.

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Re: IP address
by Adamsc＠io-online.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On Mon, 2 Dec 1996 04:38:46 -0600 (CST), Igor Chudov @ home wrote: >> >What is the risk of publishing your dynamic IP address to a web page while you are on line? How vulnerable is >> >someone just connected to the internet, w/o any server running? What attacks are feasable? --Internaut >> Well, if you are running Win95 (all) or 3.1 (w/certain TCP/IP stacks) your >> machine can be locked up or rebooted at *any* time using just PING! >Isn't is Unix that is actually vulnerable? Actually, it anything from Windows systems to Unix boxes to routers to printers to firewalls, etc can be vulnerable..! I know that linux got a patch out in 2 hours 35 minutes 10 seconds and that OS/2 hasn't been vulnerable since 1990 or so, but that's just because I use those systems. Check http://www.sophist.demon.co.uk/ping/ for details on your system. # Chris Adams <adamsc(a)io-online.com> | http://www.io-online.com/adamsc/adamsc.htp # <cadams(a)acucobol.com> | send mail with subject "send PGPKEY" "That's our advantage at Microsoft; we set the standards and we can change them." --- Karen Hargrove, Microsoft (quoted in the Feb 1993 Unix Review editorial)

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[CRYPTO] Forgery detection
by lucifer＠dhp.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Timmy `C' May uses an Adolf Hitler action figure as a dildo. >\\\|/< |_ ; (O) (o) -OOO--(_)--OOOo- Timmy `C' May

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RE: Counterproductive Dorothy Denning Flames
by blanc 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: Sir Galahad I agree. I hope that my own statements have influence in spite of my mouldy reputation. ........................................... Well, on the net nobody knows if you're mouldy, but only if your ideas are fresh. :>) You've presented some quite insightful explanations for why Ms. Denning's prestigious image would give one pause to consider her with reprehension, if not outright contempt. As they say, YMMV, depending on how educated you are on the subject of encryption, privacy, and crimes against humanity. .. Blanc

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SAIC buying Bellcore - Spooks have your number.
by stewarts＠ix.netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The papers have been announcing recently that SAIC is buying Bellcore for ~$700M. SAIC is the spook-connected beltway bandit firm that recently bought the Network Solutions folks who run the Internet NIC. Bellcore is the Bell Labs spinoff that the RBOCs have jointly owned since the breakup of the Bell System a decade ago. One of the interesting things that Bellcore does is own and administer the North American Numbering Plan, which is the telephone numbering space for Country Code 1, including the US, Canada, and much of the Caribbean. (Mexico used to have a kluged subset of 1, but a few years ago decided to join with Latin America instead, gaining 5- prefixes.) So you want an Internet domain name? Ask SAIC. You want a phone number? Ask SAIC. It's nothing to get all paranoid about, probably, but it would be interesting to speculate what they can do with it, besides finding a post-Cold-War income stream. I wonder if the Ethernet address space or IPv4 or maybe IPv6 addresses are their next acquisition? # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart, +1-415-442-2215 stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # You can get PGP outside the US at ftp.ox.ac.uk # (If this is posted to cypherpunks, I'm currently lurking from fcpunx, # so please Cc: me on replies. Thanks.)

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Leaked Letter Reveals French Key-Escrow Scheme
by J. Thorel / Netpress 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

lambda 2.12 * * * * * For several months French authorities have quietly begun to build the world's first "key recovery" encryption scheme, scheduled to take effect early in 1997. But a leaked letter sent to the official security agency, the SCSSI, reveals that the so-called "trust" has some limitation in the draft project. The proposal, called a "decret d'application," is a prime ministerial decree scheduled to be issued after the Telecommunications Reform Act of July 27, 1996 (http://www.telecom.gouv.fr/francais/activ/telecom/lrt96.htm) In France, a law only takes effect after the government signs it as a decree. The decree will define the business conditions of future "trusted third party" (TTP) systems -- in French referred to as "tiers de confidentialite," or a "privacy third party" -- and stresses the difference between the two basic encryption applications: digital signature and privacy. These agents will have the role of electronic notaries, keeping crypto keys in custody for law enforcement or national intelligence purposes. Lambda Bulletin has also learned that French authorities won't impose the "key recovery" scheme as a "mandatory" one. Yet it seems clear that a company will not be able to do business-as-usual if its encryption systems aren't certified by TTPs. Is this good news for individual users? It's not certain: The law says that crypto is legal *only* if keys are kept in custody. It won't be mandatory -- however if you get caught using PGP, it could be considered as a criminal offense. The letter obtained by the press is signed by Jean-Claude Jouas, president of the computer security think tank CLUSIF, and addressed to General Jean-Louis Desvignes, head of the SCSSI. The CLUSIF represents security-related executives from large French companies (some of which are state-owned, such as Bull and Thomson) and also from private consultancies. The SCSSI decided, after intense lobbying, to meet the industry think tank -- which highly suggests that the CLUSIF saw the close-doors draft decree. * Point 1: The letter emphasizes the lack of resolving important questions such as "international exchanges." The letter says: "It shall be possible for [future TTPs] to search partners in foreign countries in order to make these international exchanges a reality, if these partners are ready to respect French national legislation...." The letter goes on to say: "section 5 [of the draft decree] presents a 'franco-francais' project," which could undermine the basic purposes of TTPs. This national approach could create a blow for the OECD initiatives to reach a worldwide consensus for encryption policies (as described in previous bulletins). Stephane Bortzmeyer, speaking for the French Internet Users Association, says: "We'll need more than these suggestions for allowing a reasonable use of crypto. For instance, the international exchanges case is simple: either PGP or SSH use are legal, or people [in France] won't be able to subscribe to CERT mailing lists." This is because CERT urges its participants to encrypt their communications (for integrity reasons). * Point 2: The so-called "certification" procedures. The CLUSIF says "concerning the users' point of view, the most critical point [is] the certification of encryption means and technologies which will be offered by the [TTP], especially concerning the trust level the users will have to afford. [Evaluation and certification] is the key point to establish a trusted relationship, and we consider it as fundamental to include [this point] in the decree". In terms of certification, people can understand that this will protect the user from possible illegal duplication of encryption private keys, thus helping to prevent illegal interception of communications. If these certification procedures are not scheduled in the draft, people could consider it as a reason for an additional lack of trust. * Point 3: The think tank severely notes that "there is nothing scheduled in the draft in the case of legal disputes ... between the user and the third party." The litigation could erupt if the TTP gives up a users' private keys to unauthorized parties (i.e., a competitor or a curious, wiretapping official...). Epilogue: The SCSSI says the final decree could be published by the end of this month. Lambda personal bet: It might be published on Friday, December 27th. (The previous crypto legislation, in 1990, was passed as law on December 29 -- and the decrees for it were officially signed in 1992, on December 28.) P.S.: The whole CLUSIF letter will be published in the French version of this bulletin (check the Web site: http://www.freenix.fr/netizen) * * * * * Short Notes * * * * * * OECD update: The OECD draft guidelines of the crypto expert group have been revealed in Austria. Check: ftp://ftp.netsphere.co.at/Public/OECD/oecd.doc This is the document that was amended during the September 26-27 meeting in Paris, thus there have been changes since then. * EPIC conference proceedings: It's a long after the event, but you can read the English version of a report on the crypto conference EPIC organized in Paris on Sept. 25, on the eve of the OECD meeting. Check the Planete Internet Web site (English translation by K. N. Cukier): http://194.51.213.12:80/interface/SendPage.exe?ID=389 * EF-Sverige: One Lambda subscriber advises people interesting in cyber-rights in Sweden to check EF Sverige, independent from the US-based organization (although, as for EF France and others, the EFF has given them the right to use the name EF-Sverige. Check their web page at: http://connectum.skurup.se/~annami/ EF-Sveridge was founded by two journalists: Anna-Mi Wendel <annami(a)connectum.skurup.se>, the chairman, and Peppe Arninge <journalist(a)peppe.pp.se>, a member of the board. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Jerome Thorel Planete Internet Journalist, Paris Editor / Redac chef thorel(a)netpress.fr 191 av A. Briand, 94230 Cachan Tel: 33 1 49085833 - fax-31 www.planete-internet.com

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