December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Update on CDA and copyright (5/29/96)
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

ON THE CDA: Folks involved in the case expect a decision within the next week from the Philadelphia three-judge panel hearing our challenge to the CDA. The DoJ has a few weeks to appeal to the Supreme Court if they lose. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ON COPYRIGHT: Regarding the online copyright legislation, there's plenty of action on the Hill -- and contrary to what I thought a week ago, there's even a fighting chance that this bill will pass this year. So far, full Senate judiciary and the House judiciary intellectual property subcommittee have held hearings. The House has taken the lead here, and the tentative date for the subcommittee markup of HR2441 is June 5. (It was to have been last week, but was cancelled at the last minute when no agreement was reached.) The Senate seems to be waiting to see what the House does before making any sudden moves. General feeling is that the legislation was on a fast schedule but has been slowed down considerably because of ongoing controvery over OSP liability and (especially) section 1201. The big snarl is over 1201, and some alliances of convenience are breaking down. More to the point, libraries are finally mobilizing grassroots opposition. Brock has a piece about this in a recent Muckraker on HotWired. (I'm hundreds of messages behind on cypherpunks so if you reply to this please copy me.) -Declan

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Re: Where does your data want to go today?
by droelke＠rdxsunhost.aud.alcatel.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> > >From <http://www.pcweek.com/news/0527/27stor.html>: > > >Helping pave the way toward cost-effective disaster recovery > >systems, MCI Communications Corp. this week will join a growing > >number of providers offering file backup and storage over the > >Internet. > [snip] > > >MCI and Connected house data on servers at two mirrored sites. > >Both companies are adding an extra dimension of security over the > >Internet by encrypting data. > > > >MCI's networkMCI Backup software, for Windows 95 or 3.x, will > >scan a file for viruses, encrypt it using an RSA Data Security Inc. > >public key and compress it before it is uploaded onto MCI's Internet > >backbone network to a secure storage facility, said MCI officials in > >Atlanta. > [snip] > > > Some comments (off the top of my head): > > * What kind of encryption? [The article says RSA. ] How big is the key? Web page, and sign-up email doesn't say... > * Why encrypt before compression? If the encryption is any good, then the > encrypted data won't compress much at all. However, compression before > encryption has its own problems. This is just confusing wording I am sure - marketing/press-release people rarely get the details right. I would guess, that in order it is scanned, compressed, and then encrypted. Nothing else makes sense. > * Who does the key management (if any)? > * Does MCI store copies of the keys used? > * How does MCI authenticate users who request copies of files, and do they > then return them encrypted or as plaintext? If encrypted, how does the > recepient decryt the files? (He/she just had a disk crash, and this is > their backup medium, remember?) These are all good questions.... > I looked on MCI's web site <http://www.mci.com>, but couldn't find > anything. Besides, it's slower than sludge. [ 90 secs/page over my 128K > link. :-( ] http://www.mci.com/productview/framelements/backupindex.shtml (probably need netscape2 for this.) I requested to be a beta-test member and got confirmation email. I guess I'll wait until they contact me "early this summer" and see what their software does.... Dan ------------------------------------------------------------------ Dan Oelke Alcatel Network Systems droelke(a)aud.alcatel.com Richardson, TX

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[SF Bay Area] A talk on Pari by Carl Hansen
by stevenw＠best.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Seen on the net: Pari talk by Carl Hansen Monday, June 10 from 7:30 pm to 9 pm BMUG, 2055 Center Street, Berkeley Carl will give an introductory talk on Pari, software that supports arbitrary precision arithmetic and includes many function for doing number theory. He will compare it to other math software and show the special features of this program, including how Pari can be used as a cryptographers workbench. This presentation will be at the BMUG office at 2055 Center Street in Berkeley. The office is near the north west corner of Center Street and Shattuck Ave. which is half a block from the Berkeley BART station. Driving directions: Take the University exit off 80. Head east on University toward the UC Berkeley campus. Turn right at Shattuck (McDonalds will be at the corner.) Go 2 blocks. Turn right on Center and look for parking. I recommend the parking garage on the left, as the one on the right may close at 8 pm. For more information on the Berkeley Macintosh Users Group (BMUG) Mathematics Special Interest Group (SIG), contact: Nancy Blachman Variable Symbols, Inc. 6537 Chabot Road Oakland, CA 94618-1618 Email: nb(a)cs.stanford.edu nb(a)eeyore.stanford.edu Fax: 510 652 8461 Telephone: 510 652 8462 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steven Weller | Technology (n): | | A substitute for adulthood. stevenw(a)best.com | Popular with middle-aged men.

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Subpoenaed for Deposition
by skaplin＠iaxs.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded from alt.religion.scientology ----------------------------------------------- >From: "Homer W. Smith" <homer(a)light.lightlink.com> >Subject: Subpoenaed for Deposition >Date: Wed, 29 May 1996 14:03:47 -0400 >Organization: ART MATRIX - LIGHTLINK >Lines: 12 >Distribution: inet >Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.960529135938.4049A-100000(a)light.lightlink.com> >NNTP-Posting-Host: light.lightlink.com >Mime-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII >To: Remailer Operators Network <reop-l(a)cornell.edu> >cc: Multiple recipients of list IAP <IAP(a)VMA.CC.ND.EDU> I have received a subpoena to be deposed by the Church of Scientology concerning the posting of Scamizdat #3 through the Free Zone Remailer on April 1st, 1995. Homer ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Homer Wilson Smith News, Web, Telnet Art Matrix - Lightlink (607) 277-0959 SunOS 4.1.4 Sparc 20 Internet Access, Ithaca NY homer(a)lightlink.com info(a)lightlink.com http://www.lightlink.com --- Never play cards with a man called Doc. Fuck Exon - Fuck The CDA - Fuck Scientology - Fuck Dianetics - Fuck Congress Fuck The President - Fuck Obsenity - Fuck Democrats - Fuck Republicans Support Freedom Of Expression!

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Re: Statistical analysis of anonymous databases
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 8:12 PM 5/29/96, Alan Horowitz wrote: >I would ask, is there any known medical gain that has resulted from >such a data-base correllation. > >I do not accept a researcher's own statements as to the utility of the work >(S)he's done with someone's funding. Seen too much of it at close >quarters... Nor do I accept reeports in the lay press - these are >nothing more than re-gurgitated press releases from PR depts of institutions. Separating out issues of privacy, and addressing only your basic point about a "known medical gain that has resulted from such a data-base correllation," there are many obvious correlations which have been discovered by use of various data in data bases. The increased prevalence of sickle cell anemia in blacks, the increased prevalence of Tay-Sachs in Jews....all of these things are well-established (and important for dealing with health issues of these groups...that is, it is important and beneficial that someone made such correlations). Back to privacy issues. I am not arguing that the privacy wishes, contractually agreed to, of a patient be ignored. I am simply refuting your point that no medical gain has come from data base correlations. As to the "lay press," I read some issues of "Nature," "Science," "New Scientist," "Discover," and "Scientific American," the journals in which the scientists speak more or less directly, and I am convinced that statistical inference from data bases is indeed a powerful tool. (I am not saying that the privacy wishes and contractual language of patients is to be ignored on this basis, only saying that statistical inference is indeed valuable. So valuable, in fact, that the libertarian/cypherpunk solution is for patients to "sell" this information.) --Tim May Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software! We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay(a)got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Licensed Ontologist | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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Asendmail Status & Politikal Rant
by Ben Holiday 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Well, asendmail has been running for several days now, handling outbound mix mail from my remailer. It appears to be getting the mail through reliably, although there are still a few bugs. After reading through the responses from other cypherpunks and interested parties, I decided to make a few changes to the software, the largest of which was support for a separate configuration file of text strings to be sent in SMTP's initial HELO command. It is possible to add as many lines as you care to in the list of fake HELO strings, which should satisfy the need (want?) for randomness in the headering of outbound mail, without restricting anyone to useing either faked site names, OR real site names. I'll be working on final preparation of README's and install notes, and should have a tar.gziped source available by friday at the outside. Once the initial software is released I'll put together a mail robot to help with gathering proxy addresses. I still need test mail to be routed through the mailer! Everything appears to be OK, but I'd like more chances to see what is happening with mail that gets resent this way. On to politiks: I understand that the entire concpet of this program is a bit controversial, and I can accept that. Personnaly I am not certain exactly how to feel about it. I suppose that I am not thrilled about the idea of cloaking the mailer this way, but at the same time I perceive it as an evil of requirement. I beleive very strongly that remailers SHOULD exist, whether or not the CoS, or the FBI agree; and I am willing to be a bit impolite if thats what needs to be. My only hesitation is that I'm afraid now might be to soon. At the same time I think it would be unfortunate if it came down to someone actually going to jail for remailing before people are willing to do something that may be a bit extreme. Anyway, someone raised the argument that the problem was political, and that a technical solution would do more harm than good - maybe you're right, I can't see the future, But it seems to me that I read somewhere that "Cypherpunks Write Code". This statement is amazingly profound in its implications. Anonymous communication on the net depends on the technical solutions embodied in the current remailing software, and cryptography applications. If, years ago, the cypherpunks had decided that a publicity campaign, political lobbying, and apologizing were the right course of action, anonymous speach on the internet would be virtually non-existant today. If the cypherpunks decide today that coding is not the answer, where will free speach on the net be in 5 years? I think it is very naive to beleive that the world is going to change enough, quickly enough, that remailers will become accepted, and protected, methods of speaking - no matter how politically correct we try to be. Why do we see big business and big government launching a full frontal assault on the remailers, while the mailing lists continue to operate without incident? Because the enemy's of free speach recognize where the true threat to their opression lies. Relying on politics to preserve our rights is like throwing down your gun and asking the bear to please not eat you. The powers that be want us to shut up. The programs that we write are the weapons that will defend our right to speak.

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online law-- new book
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

a quick word to the cpunks with legal interests. a great new book called "Online Law: the SPA's Legal Guide to Doing Business on the Internet" seems to me to be a superlative compilation. edited by Thomas J Smedinghoff. Addison-Wesley, 1996. extremely up-to-date-- in one section cites various court decisions from 1995 on the scientologists vs. netcom etc. heavy on the citations/footnotes of existing law. has very good coverage of encryption and digital signatures etc. and talks about their legal status. also, good info on copyrights, defamation, patents, online transactions, trade secrets, privacy, licensing 1st amendment, sexually explicit materials, email in the workplace, export control, trade practices, contracts, etc. I expect this volume is going to be widely praised and become a very definitive guide. it seems to me a quick look in this book would go about 95% toward resolving immediately a lot of the online debates I've read here and elsewhere about "what the law says". the price is also very good for something of this type, typically the law-related material is really expensive. ordering: (800) 238 9682 see http://www.aw.com/devpress ISBN 0-201-48980-5 $34.95 544 pages paperback

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Re: NRC crypto policy report to be released Thursday
by jya＠pipeline.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The initial September 14, 1994 announcement of the NRC National Cryptography project is at: http://www.wpi.edu/~ryant/ncp.html It describes the program and lists committee members absolutely certain to deny GAK tomorrow, trust them.

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NRC crypto policy report to be released Thursday
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I was offline for the Memorial Day weekend, and I'm hundreds of messages behind on cypherpunks, so ignore this if it's redundant... But anyway, a reminder: The National Research Council's report on crypto policy will be unveiled tomorrow at the National Press Club at 1 pm in Washington, DC. I'm going to try my best to be there. >From their web page at <http://www2.nas.edu/cstbweb/>: The Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) of the National Research Council (NRC) has completed a congressionally mandated study of national cryptography policy. The final report, Cryptography's Role in Securing the Information Society, will be released to the public on May 30, 1996 at a public briefing. A large number of the authoring committee members will attend. The public briefing will take place in the Main Lounge of the National Press Club, 14th and F Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C., from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, on Thursday, May 30, 1996. Committee members will respond to questions from attendees, and a limited number of pre-publication copies of the report will be available at that time. By the close of business on May 30, a summary of the report will be made available through this web page; the full publication will be made available when final printed copies of the book are available (probably around the beginning of August). The committee also intends to conduct a second public briefing on the report in Menlo Park, California at SRI International. The briefing will be held in the Auditorium of the International Building from 10 to 11 am on Wednesday, June.5. The address is 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, California, 94025. For more information about the briefing at SRI, contact Alice Galloway at 415-859-2711 (alice_galloway(a)qm.sri.com) -Declan

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Re: [crypto] crypto-protocols for trading card games
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 8:56 PM 5/29/96, David F. Ogren wrote: >> On Wed, 29 May 1996, Simon Spero wrote: >> >> > Design a set of crypto protocols to support the issuing, trading, >> > and playing of such card games in real time (100ms compute time >> > per move) >> >> I'd been thinking about it from the opposite point of view: make up >> a card game (possibly electronic, like what you're proposing) that >> acts as intro to crypto for the untamed hordes of game players. >> >I've had similar ideas, but there are snags. Card playing via >encryption techniques is a great idea in theory, but in reality the >technical requirements often prevent implementation. I didn't comment earlier, because I didn't want to sound like the old-timer who claims an idea is an old one, but "card games" were in fact cited as a perfect example of a "tools needed" situation. At least 3 years ago, and probably closer to 3.5 years ago, there was discussion of the cryptographic primitives needed to play cards. (I mean on the Cypherpunks list...there was certainly academic research on "fair coin tosses over insecure lines" and "card games" going back at least 15 years. Specifically, some of the work on "mental poker" and "bit commitment" is very directly related to playing games over insecure lines.) In fact, one of the goals Eric Hughes and I had in our early discussions, before this group and this mailing list, was of what it would take to make real, or reify, the many academic results of cryptography. (Only the simplest of which are "secure communications" and "digital signatures.") Dice games, card games, numbers games, are only special cases of the larger issue of "mutually untrusted agents" and the interactions they can handle. I applaud Simon Spero's interest, even if it others raised similar issues a few years ago. Actually, little progress has been made, so there is much work still to be done. --Tim May Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software! We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay(a)got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Licensed Ontologist | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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