December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: the best justice money can buy --Lessig suspended
by Brian B. Riley 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On 2/3/98 9:45 PM, Ryan Anderson (ryan(a)michonline.com) passed this wisdom: >On Tue, 3 Feb 1998, Tim May wrote: > >> >> (I've left out the PowerPC, as it appears now to be limited solely >> to the Macintosh market...even IBM and Motorola appear to have >> acknowledged its failure.) > >Unless I've missed some absolutely major announcement, IBM is >betting on the PowerPC in all their servers. Well, at least in >their RS/6000 and AS/400, which is pretty much their entire >high-end market. > >The PowerPC never had a serious entry into the desktop market >anywhere but the Macintosh to my >knowledge. ... and while Intel is not so quietly making noises about the soon to be available 333MHz Pentium IIs, Motorola quietly announced 400/433 MHz PPC chips two weeks earlier. Brian B. Riley --> http://members.macconnect.com/~brianbr For PGP Keys <mailto:brianbr@together.net?subject=Get%20PGP%20Key> "Fate favors the prepared mind." (from "Under Siege 3")

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Whoa: British SmartCard rollout
by Information Security 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> From: bill payne <billp(a)nmol.com> > To: webmaster(a)cylink.com > CC: federico pena <" Federico.F.Pena"@hq.doe.gov>, jy(a)jya.com, > john gilmore <gnu(a)toad.com>, j orlin grabbe <kalliste(a)aci.net>, > cypherpunks(a)toad.com > Subject: Jim Omura > <B>cn010598.txt Electronic Surveillance News January 5, 1998</B> 2 January 1998, Newsbytes: British Govt Announces Smart Card Plans for UK Citizens London, England: Amid the quiet of the Christmas and New Year break, the British government revealed plans for a "citizen's smart card" that will streamline the interfacing of British people with their government. In plain English, that translates to a smart card that can be used to allow people to pay all of their taxes, including income tax, national insurance, and local taxes, as well as apply for passports, state benefits, and other forms of government welfare. The idea behind the smart card, according to Peter Kilfoyle, the British public services minister, is that people will be able to use the card to identify themselves to the various government computers, all of which will be interlinked with each other. Kilfoyle claims that there are "huge potential savings" to be had from the introduction of the smart card, although he revealed that possessing a card will be voluntary. When questioned further on this, he admitted, however, that people could find it difficult to operate in the future without such a card. Initially, the citizen's smart card will rely on traditional PIN protection systems to allow a person to ID themselves alongside the card to the government computer systems. In the longer term, and certainly within the next five years, the plan is to allow an individual to use a fingerprint or similar biometric system for positive identification. ---- Fingerprinting everyone on the planet: those of you in CA and a handful of other states have already been fingerprinted "so you can drive". Police will eventually be able to stop anyone and demand to check their fingerprints via cheap small portable scanners. EFF/EPIC etc need to specifically target these biometric systems as being way over the top. Totally unnecessary. ---guy How did you CA cypherpunks feel about being fingerprinted?

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RSA? ElGamal?
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Is ElGamal secure than RSA ?

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Re: The Continued Attack on Cash (Was: "The Right of Anonymity"...)
by Attila T. Hun 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Black Unicorn wrote: > At 06:07 PM 2/2/98 +0000, Attila T. Hun wrote: > > I did-- tried to lay $14K out for a Mercedes (25 years ago). > > they wouldnt take it. so I went and picked up two $7K > > cashiers from two different banks. same thing with a pair > > of Lycoming IO540 aircraft engines: 2 8s and a 9 --stay > > under the $10K transaction. > > Careful. This may well be illegal now. > Structuring transactions to avoid > reporting requirements is a felony. > statute of limitations has run. at the time, I did not give it much thought except the aggravation of filing the paperwork for what was a common business transaction. It was actually easier to get cash in las vegas than a cashiers check as the banks were so pissy. the casinos were far better than the banks once you established out of town credit with them --and they were 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I wanted those aircraft engines bad --the vendor in Chicago had the only two available for close to six months and he had agreed to sell them to Canada but was waiting on the letter of credit --the casinos wired the money direct which turned the deal --the engines were on a return flight the next morning --a Saturday. transferring money from a casino is not the best place in the world for obvious reasons, despite its expediency. structuring transactions is certainly illegal now, but I have not seen that kind of money since retiring after having had a run of bad luck with my health a few years back (and lost my FAA medical cert). -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: latin1 Comment: No safety this side of the grave. Never was; never will be iQBVAwUBNNgm3rR8UA6T6u61AQET5gH6An6jxz5lkdghl6BXbHZ3tFCGu7iam32F knFYLLWGSYngkRH6k4x7/zXA0SH7ghZ5b33gKlX98oWx7NKyOXLZuw== =5RqA -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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PLEASE READ! YOULL BE GLAD YOU DID, MONEY MONEY
by jacket9＠primenet.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>>>> >>>>TO: MASSAOL(a)aol.com >>>>FROM: GatesBeta(a)microsoft.com >>>>ATTACH: Tracklog(a)microsoft.com/Track883432/~TraceActive/On.html >>>> >>>>Hello Everyone, >>>>And thank you for signing up for my Beta Email Tracking Application or (BETA) >>>>for short. My name is Bill Gates. Here at Microsoft we have just compiled an >>>>e-mail tracing program that tracks everyone to whom this message is forwarded >>>>to. It does this through an unique IP (Internet Protocol) address log book >>>>database. >>>>We are experimenting with this and need your help. Forward this >>>>to everyone you know and if it reaches 1000 people everyone >>>>on the list you will receive $1000 and a copy of Windows98 at my expense. >>>>Enjoy. >>>> >>>>Note: Duplicate entries will not be counted. You will be notified by email >>>>with further instructions once this email has reached 1000 people. Windows98 >>>>will not be shipped unitl it has been released to the general public. >>>> >>>>Your friend, >>>>Bill Gates & The Microsoft Development Team. >>>> >>> >> >> >Madeline > > >

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Free Roger Clemens Lithograph
by pegasusgroup＠emailconcepts.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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Subliminally Seduce Women Instantly!
by ls6Q1MOb7＠yahoo.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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Internic may be required to return money
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Holy shit. > > Court: Domain fees appear illegal > By Brock N. Meeks > > WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 - A federal court Monday issued a > temporary injunction barring the federal government from > spending some $50 million it has collected from the > registration of Internet domain names. That money forms a > pool of funds intended to be spent for improving the > Internet. On Monday, the court sided with the plaintiffs in a > lawsuit that claims those fees constitute an illegal tax. > > The money is part of a so-called "intellectual infrastructure > fund," which is funded by 30 percent of all fees paid to > register an Internet domain name. Initial domain names cost > $100; renewal of domain names is $50 annually. The > remainder of registration fees goes to Network Solutions > Inc. (NSOL) to cover its cost of maintaining the registration > service. > > Network Solutions operates as a monopoly, stemming from > a National Science Foundation government grant. That > grant is supposed to end in March; the White House issued > a proposal Jan. 30 that would move domain name > registration into the private sector. > > In October, six domain-name holders filed suit in U.S. > District Court alleging that the National Science Foundation > had no authority to allow Network Solutions to collect any > money in excess of its cost of providing the registration > service. Further, the suit charged, the 30 percent > set-aside amounts to an unconstitutional tax. > > Judge Thomas Hogan said Monday that the plaintiffs "have > made a significant showing that the (intellectual > infrastructure fund) is an illegal tax." > > Hogan said there is "no litmus paper onto which the Court > can drop a regulatory assessment such as this one, hoping > to see whether the paper comes up blue for tax or pink for > fee." Justice Department lawyers had argued in court that > the domain-name registration fee was exactly that, a fee, > because it was paid voluntarily and therefore couldn't be > considered a tax. > > But Hogan disagreed, writing that "there is no dispute that > the assessment (registration fee) is involuntary - it is > automatically charged to every domain registration." > > In 1995 Network Solution's contract was amended to allow > it to begin collecting fees for the registration process, > which it had done for free since 1993, when its contract > was issued. The registration fees set off a firestorm of > criticism in the Internet community. The Intellectual > Infrastructure Fund was supposed to be used for the > betterment of the Internet for the community as a whole; > however, no plan has ever developed on how to spend the > money, which is held in escrow. > > Because no plan had been developed to spend the fund > money, Congress rushed into the vacuum late last year > and simply appropriated some $23 million. Congress > earmarked that money to be spent on the Next Generation > Internet project, which President Bill Clinton highlighted in > his recent State of the Union speech. > > "Under federal law, no independent executive agency - > such as the National Science Foundation - can collect > fees that exceed the cost of providing the service they are > administering," said William Bode, attorney for the plaintiffs. > "NSI, the agent of NSF, spends less than $5 to register > domain names, yet it charges a registration fee of $100 and > renewal fees of $50 per year," he said. > > Network Solutions did not return calls for comment. > > Bode also argued that only Congress has the authority to > tax and that no such authorization has taken place. The > Justice Department argued that because Congress > appropriated the $23 million from the infrastructure fund, it > had essentially ratified the tax. > > Bode argued that ratification of a tax can't take place in > authorization bills. Judge Hogan agreed, noting that > ratification is a legislative function and that "it is well known > that Congress does not normally legislate through > appropriations bills." Hogan added: "Congress may have > intended to grant NSF the authority to collect the > assessment, but it has not effected a legal ratification." > > The suit also is seeking antitrust damages, alleging that the > NSF violated the competition in contracting act when it > allowed Network Solutions to begin collecting the $100 fee. > Bode says the competition act requires the NSF to re-bid a > new contract, not simply amend it. > > The temporary injunction "paves the way for our motion, > which we'll file in two days, to require NSI to return all > registration renewal fees which exceed the cost of > providing that service," attorney Bode said. "We think that > cost [to NSI for the registration process] is significantly less > than $10, probably $2 to $3," he said, "which would mean > that there would be a refund of approximately $100 million > in our judgment."

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Rogue EFF Dir Brad Templeton
by Information Security 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

This jerk should be kicked out of EFF. Brad had stated he wants to eliminate one-way anonymous remailers, make two-way anonymous remailer users identify themselves as the same person every time they use one, and: o require digital signature identification for all email o require digital signature identification for all Usenet posts --------- previously shown ------------- Brad Templeton emailed: * Information Security emailed: * > Nor does your digital signature idea do anything to prevent * > throw-away accounts from doing major spams; you'll have to * > put even MORE controls on people. * * Correct, no throw away accounts. It's coming. * * > The digital signature idea is an astonishingly bad idea, that * > only frustrated control-freaks will accept. * * You are mistaken. I surveyed a roomful of usenet admins at a * conference last year. They were 95% in favor of it. [I replied that those were the control-freaks I was talking about] Brad Templeton emailed, formatted by guy: > As far as I am concerned, no fake addresses is one of my non-negotiable > requirements, because > > the eventual USENET is going to have digital signature requirements. > > It's the only way to stop [people from] posting under fake addresses > where we can't find them, and that means stopping honest users from > doing it too. [I said false: ALL problem posters are locateable to their ISP] http://www.clari.net/brad/spam.html [snipped] [by Brad] Solutions... First, improve internet mail systems and protocols to identify mail with a fake or forged return address. There are some simple steps to do this, and eventually digital signature allows complete verification of the sender. http://polka.clari.net/usenet-format/cert.html Q: What about anonymous remailers? A: A person with an anonymous address that sends mail back will probably be able to get a certificate. They can post without revealing their name, except perhaps to the person who gives them a certificate. Digital signature works fine to prove the same person sent two messages without saying at all who that person is in the real world. Forced to authenticate they are the same person, even through the anonymous remailer. --------- end of previously shown ------------- What's new is Brad has inserted his declaration that access to the Net must require you to authenticate yourself with a digital signature to post to Usenet in the draft text for the new Usenet RFC, which he is heading: Brad's draft Usenet digital signature text: # Systems MAY insist that an article be signed, at least the # body and the minimal header set, or they MAY reject the # article. This policy may vary from group to group and # subnet to subnet. Eventually it is expected that a site # SHOULD reject any article that is not signed. Hey, fine if an individual group wants to vote it in. But ALL OF USENET??? I asked him if he would change the wording to: # An individual group MAY insist that an article be signed, # at least the body and the minimal header set. This is # subject to the normal news standards of users of a group # deciding this issue themselves. Dead silence. He REFUSES TO DISCUSS the last statement: # Eventually it is expected that a site # SHOULD reject any article that is not signed. It is a purely political statement on his part, pushing his vision of a tightly authenticated Net, like they have in China. In fact, it is utterly clueless of him, especially since he was one of the original CDA plaintiffs. [Not to mention it is an "agreement to make an agreement"] NONE of the other list participants has said they agree everyone should authenticate themselves using digital signatures for all Usenet posts, which is the language I am contesting. Yet, he won't even discuss the ramifications. Yep, power corrupts: he's running the show, and answers to no one. ------- begin Crypto Manifesto excerpt ------- * Sandia and Coms21, currently engaged in an agreement to support the * People's Republic of China's driver license and national ID card * program, have partnered to create a fraud-proof solution for on-the-spot * positive identification of card bearers. * "China Tells Internet Users To Register With Police" * The New York Times, 2/15/1996 * * China ordered all users of the Internet to register with the police, as * part of an effort to tighten control over information. * * The order came from the Ministry of Public Security. * * Network users have been warned not to harm national security, or to * disseminate pornography. Well, there's a new way to control Internet users: require them to identify themselves, no doubt your U.S.-created National ID Card will be required for access. That ought to stop pornography: identify each and every user. # "The Great Firewall of China", by Geremie R. Barme & Sang Ye, Wired, 6/97 # # Xia Hong, China InfoHighway's PR man: "The Internet has been an important # technical innovator, but we need to add another element, and that is # control. The new generation of information superhighway needs a traffic # control center. It needs highway patrols; USERS WILL REQUIRE DRIVER'S # LICENSES. THESE ARE THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR ANY CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT." The Supreme Court's CDA ruling: Once most people are fingerprinted, a cheap (say $50) fingerprint scanner that attaches a timestamp and government digital signature will be sold for allowing Internet access to "adult" locations---chat rooms, USENET, WWW sites---and it will be mandatory. The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court said as soon as the "Internet driver's license" is technically feasible, CDA becomes legal. "Such technology requires Internet users to enter information about themselves--perhaps an adult identification number or a credit card number--before they can access certain areas of cyberspace, 929 F. Supp. 824, 845 (ED Pa. 1996), much like a bouncer checks a person's driver's license before admitting him to a nightclub." ------- end Crypto Manifesto excerpt ------- If everyone has a digital signature, CDA becomes legal. I do wish EFF would kick him out! ---guy

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Cryptography empowering human rights.
by WebWarrior3＠InfoWar.Com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Looking for opinions and leads to resources about human rights and the potential abuse of said rights with public key 'escrow' or recovery agents. Please send info to: mailto:webwarrior3@infowar.com Thanks in advance, Scott R. Brower Electronic Fronteirs Florida http://www.efflorida.org effla(a)efflorida.org

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