December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

RE: Encryption for the Masses
by Wilson, Jamie (J.R.) 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 We live in a society where freedom is largely an illusion and where Big Brother doesn't fear protest by the general population. In most cases, simply creating a crisis is enough for individuals to not only give their liberties up but to actually plead for their liberties to be taken away in the name of safety and security. What they don't realize is that the sheep are begging the wolves to protect them. It's not the militia guy next door that I'm worried about -- he pretty much tells us what he's up to. What I'm afraid of is the NSA reading my email and listening to my phone calls without my knowledge. So how do we get the masses to realize that we aren't talking about a potential threat, but are actually already living in a Big Brother society with very few secrets. We can continue to bury our heads in the illusion that we really are free, but we have to ask ourselves whether we are more free today than we were ten years, five years or even a year ago. If the answer is no, then there is a serious problem. So excusing my rant, my point is that when the average individual wakes up and realizes that his or her life really is an open book and that every piece of email sent has been filtered through a computer somewhere, that every posting to a newsgroup has been archived and just may pop up and haunt them in the future, when they realize that the only privacy available to them is the privacy that they claim and defend then, and only then, will we see a change in crypto policies around the world. When the citizenry begins demanding accountability by elected officials for the privacy that they've sold, for the chains they've placed on their constituents and for the oaths they have broken then we'll see the tide change for the better. Until then, the rest of us will have to wage the fight to protect the ignorant. ____________________________________________________ J. Richard Wilson -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP for Personal Privacy 5.5.5 iQA/AwUBNm7BSsDUWXiy5rQXEQJRUQCdEUMFE6kfNz2/hzJmOmiKoAyEKEYAoNtd vAJ/Hc/RTsdDs+F7eLnroqCT =Gxd/ -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -----Original Message----- From: Joel O'Connor [mailto:ogrenivek@yahoo.com] Sent: Wednesday, 09 December, 1998 10:26 To: Anonymous Cc: Cypherpunks(a)toad.com Subject: Re: They say education is power abd naybe they were correct. I agree with the fact that more people need to use encryption, the problem (as you stated) is that people do not understand how to use it, or even know it exists. Unfortunate for us, fortunate for big brother. While the only way we can counteract this debate is through empowerment, the question remains, how do you spread the word to up to a million people, enough to get their interest and keep it, enough to take the time to teach them how to use the tools. I work for an IT department and the users I train rank from intelligent to "where the hell did you come from?!" Teaching people who have no want or need is the hardest part, just ask Christians, they know what it's like. Our greatest problems lie within our inability to train and make use of what lies in front of us, if people don't see the need, then why would they? Another point, some people feel that if they have nothing to hide, then why use it. An acquaitance of mine has the same stubborn attitude, what steps do you take to thwart that? That excuse bothers me beyond belief, but it is a common thought that if you need to take the steps to hide something, then it must be wrong. God help us. . . ---Anonymous <nobody(a)replay.com> wrote: > > I think setting up mirror sites of crypto archives > across the world is a great idea. However, I also > think we need to focus on getting more and more > people to use crypto. I would guess that the vast > majority of computer users worldwide see no use > for encryption in their day-to-day lives -- and > even those that do don't also use it. > > If everybody in the world is using encryption, it > is going to be extremely difficult for "democratic" > governments to tell them they can't use it any more. > > Unfortunately, it's easy for governments to blame > crypto for terrorism and a host of other crimes, > simply because the average citizen doesn't understand > the concept of an "electronic envelope". > > > == Ogre bounces like sonar. . .Peace. Ogre _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

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RE: Postcard Debates
by Wilson, Jamie (J.R.) 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

If everyone just encrypted their messages then no suspicions would be raised regarding the use of encryption. Most people use envelopes, plain and simple -- and as a result no one questions what they are hiding. It's understood that mail is private and therefore people have a right to seal it in an envelope and not worry about people tampering with it. On the same note, there are federal regulations and penalties (in the U.S. anyway) for tampering with mail and interrupting the delivery of it. The same laws should apply to email. ____________________________________________________ Jamie R. Wilson -----Original Message----- From: Robert Wenzler [mailto:rwenzler@usachoice.com] Sent: Thursday, 10 December, 1998 13:56 To: Mbishop645(a)aol.com Cc: maven(a)weirdness.com; hab(a)gamegirlz.com; Cypherpunks(a)toad.com Subject: Re: Mbishop645(a)aol.com wrote: > > >HaB wrote: > ><snip> > >> That's a good place to begin, though. "Would you send a letter to > >> someone without an envelope?" "Then why not put your email in the > >> electronic equivalent of one?" > >> > >> balance. > > > >Would I send a letter to someone without an envelope? > >One word: postcard. > > Ahh, but would you tape a check for your phone bill to a postcard? Other > than writing a greeting to someone what else do you use a postcard for? No, I would not tape a phone bill check to a postcard. There is the chance for it to fall off. There is different methods of sending mail for different levels of security and functionality. Some people make it obvious what is inside an envelope. (who would not recognize a Christmas card from the envelope?) Others make it as bland and normal as possible to have it go by without much notice. It all depends on how secure you want it. Some things you can do with what amounts to postcard security. What amount of security do you want for your email? Would you be willing to do something extra for that security? This type of question is up to each person. How much risk is the person willing to take. Each person has the responsibility to understand what the risks are and to decide what risks they are willing to take.

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Re: The politics of crypto archives (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Wed, 09 Dec 1998 20:03:05 +0100 > From: Mok-Kong Shen <mok-kong.shen(a)stud.uni-muenchen.de> > Subject: Re: The politics of crypto archives > We were talking about a site that has to be closed because of (new) > crypto laws, not technically down which is seldom with modern hardware. > And also you said that money is no problem! You need to go back and re-read what prompted this. Your responce is completely out of context. > Why you care so much about people who voluteer to run sites? They > certainly know what kind of risks that they probably face, financial > or otherwise. Do you care your neighbour who opens up a new company > and do you feel unconditionally have to give him advices?? Are you > the one who is cleverer than all the others? It depends, do I shop there? I'm done with this discussion. You want to expect people to put their neck on the line and you use their services while owning them nothing then wonder why nobody does it, so be it. ____________________________________________________________________ If I can put in one word what has always infuriated me in any person, any group, any movement, or any nation, it is: bullying Howard Zinn The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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Re: German government press release on Wassenaar (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Wed, 9 Dec 98 20:04 +0100 > From: ulf(a)fitug.de (Ulf =?iso-8859-1?Q?M=F6ller?=) > Subject: Re: German government press release on Wassenaar > 1.) Officials point out that "export control" does not mean "export > restriction". Spin-doctor bullshit. There are forms of "export control" (such as the > requirement to notify the Export Office of your exports) that do not > hinder the export of crypto software in any significant way. So it > remains to be seen how Germany and other countries will implement > the new rules. And why should one need to notify them if there is not at least the implied ability on their part to say "NO, you won't either."? > 2.) The government has acknowledged that public domain software > remains unrestricted. This also applies to copyrighted software such > as PGP which "has been made available without restrictions upon its > further dissemination". PGP is NOT unrestrited. ____________________________________________________________________ If I can put in one word what has always infuriated me in any person, any group, any movement, or any nation, it is: bullying Howard Zinn The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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No Subject
by owner-cypherpunks＠Algebra.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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The politics of crypto archives
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Wed, 09 Dec 1998 17:46:37 +0100 > From: Mok-Kong Shen <mok-kong.shen(a)stud.uni-muenchen.de> > Subject: Re: Building crypto archives worldwide to foil US-built Berlin Walls (fwd) > Let there be a large number of sites. If part of these fail, there > are others that are successful. (Compare evolution.) But two sites don't reproduce to make a 3rd site, some set of sites don't deny environmental resources to others, etc. etc. Your analogy is flawed on many levels. If the sites go down that often what motive would somebody else have if they know they'll face the same sorts of problems and won't have any additional resources to help them face it? Why would you put up a site if you knew that the 14 others before had failed and that nobody would help with your legal fees when you did go down? It's one thing to put your neck on the block for yourself, it's a whole other issue when you start asking other people to do it for your benefit (they obviously don't need an archive since they have the resources already) when you make it clear that you won't reimburse or otherwise recognize their efforts for YOU. > > > If the 'economies', 'infrastructure' 'religon' and what not of the > > > countries do not (yet) affect crypto laws, why care about them? If > > > > They effect crypto by defintion. > > How, for example, can they affects the functioning of an archive, if > you get the right people and machine? Because those machines have to be available and paid for, their utilities need to exist and need to be reliable, the police need to have some sort of legal boundary to cross, and you need some recognized and guaranteed legal recourse for your own self defence. Those are just a couple of the issues involved in running a archive site. Things don't exist in vacuum. You naively take WAY(!!!) too much for granted. I'll tell you what. Just as an experiment put up a CDR node for 6 months and see what it's like. Keep the box up 24 hours a day, pay the electricity, phone lines, domain name, etc. We're talking less than $500 total if you already own a box. Such an experiment is within the reach of just about any person who has sufficient resources (even students) to surf the web. If you don't have the infrastructure to send the email in the clear then crypto won't effect that one whit. And putting up an archive that nobody can get to is not worth the effort either. > > If they don't have crypto laws it's likely they don't have a lot of other > > sorts of laws and the social and economic structure those laws imply. This > > makes it very difficult to operate a archive with any sort of stability or > > protection. > > It is not true that there are more gangsters in the small than in > the powerful nations. What do you mean by stability (which has plenty > of meanings)? Well of course not, the populations aren't comparable. However, it is clear that smaller 3rd world countries have much more stringent regulations or because the instability causes there to be no standards to regulation and lack many of the protections we in the US take for granted. It makes the continued existance of the archive problematic. Putting up an archive on Monday only to have it go down on Tuesday is pyrrhic at best. I use stability in the commen political meaning. The country has a political and social system that is long-lived, has a well defined mechanism for transfer of power (if they even recognize transfer of power), etc. If you're in a situation where some rebels or other forces start lobbing mortar shells into your immediate area then crypto is the least of your worries. Or as in Columbia where a group drove into town, drug people out into the street and shot them in the head. Consider S. Korea. Even though it's a democracy it's illegal to operate a firewall. The closest place S. Koreans can get in many cases to a firewall and network security (for groups outside of S. Korea) is Australia. Now how do you expect to seriously run a crypto site when the military and police have a legal authority to come rummage in your system at will? And can put you in detention if you deny them that access? Those sorts of places are where crypto is needed but clearly can't do the job for themselves. > > And what about the costs and effects incurred by that person you so glibly > > throw away? > > I suppose that running an archive is a voluntary (self-sacrificing) > act of a benovolent person ready to offer his service to the public. > If his site has to close down sometime later, he has to accept his > bad luck. Why should you care so much minutely for him? (And you > say below that the money problem is trivial!) No, it isn't self-sacrifice. It's sacrifice for the users of that archive. Their motives are not self-centered, they're society centered. As users of those archives you OWE them. I would suggest strongly(!) that you spend more time studying ethics and morality. > So it rests to find people who have the time and (that small) money > and energy to run sites and some countries that aren't going to > have strict cryto laws in the near future. THAT, however, is > difficult, I believe. Duh. I wonder why....(well, actualy I don't) ____________________________________________________________________ If I can put in one word what has always infuriated me in any person, any group, any movement, or any nation, it is: bullying Howard Zinn The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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No Subject
by owner-cypherpunks＠Algebra.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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[ZKS Press Release] 50th Anniversary of the Declaration of HumanRights a Reminder th at Privacy must be Preserved
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text From: Nicola Dourambeis <nicola(a)zks.net> To: ZKS Press Releases <zks-press(a)zks.net> Subject: [ZKS Press Release] 50th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights a Reminder th at Privacy must be Preserved Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 18:13:51 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Sender: owner-zks-press(a)zks.net Precedence: normal Reply-To: press(a)zks.net ======================================================== Zero-Knowledge Systems Press Release, http://www.zks.net ======================================================== 50th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights a Reminder that Privacy must be Preserved. Web site launched to allow citizens of the world to protest their loss of privacy. December 9, 1998 (Montreal)--On the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), as well as in protest of the recent changes to cryptography policies worldwide, Zero-Knowledge Systems is spearheading a campaign to encourage governments to loosen newly imposed cryptography restrictions. This campaign, seen on the web site http://www.freecrypto.org, enables citizens of the world to express their outrage and concern at the increasing loss of their privacy. Article 12 of the UDHR states, "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family home, or correspondence...." Yet, decades later, we are witnessing the unprecedented collection of personal information and intrusions into the lives of many. Internet users in particular, confront multiple privacy violations while online. Over 80% of Internet users polled consider privacy be their primary concern. The best defense for online privacy is to use strong cryptography, which allows Internet users to preserve the privacy of their communications and personal information. On December 3, 1998, the Internet community experienced one of the strongest setbacks to their privacy in recent years. The 33 member countries of the Wassenaar Arrangement agreed for the first time to impose export restrictions on mass-market cryptography products. Until December 3rd, the majority of the Wassenaar signatories did not impose export controls over mass-market products that protect personal security and privacy through cryptography. The United States Department of Commerce Under-Secretary has taken credit for convincing all other Wassenaar countries to impose these added restrictions over cryptography designed for average citizens. Barry Steinhardt, President of the Electronic Frontier Foundation believes "The US government has strong-armed the rest of the industrialized world into adopting a policy that will make us less secure and more vulnerable to electronic terrorism. Our critical national and international infrastructures need to be protected by strong encryption. Weak encryption with back doors that will be exploited not just by governments, but by information pirates, will leave us at greater risk." "It is not too late to reverse course," continues Steinhardt. "Wassenaar allows, but does not require, the other national governments to follow the US' foolish lead." "Cryptography is the key to preserving privacy for Internet users," explains Austin Hill, President of Zero-Knowledge Systems. "By limiting the accessibility of cryptography, you are limiting people's ability to protect themselves. Now, more than ever, we have the ability to influence the future of the electronic world; we must ensure that it has the same the basic rights and protections that the UDHR promised us fifty years ago." Hill continues, "We hope that Internet users will be proactive in protesting this human rights infringement to their governments. The freecrypto.org web site provides such a space, where users can learn about the issues and send their government representatives a message expressing their dissatisfaction with the tightening of cryptography controls." The freecrypto.org web site provides a form that citizens can fill out and have faxed or emailed to their respective government representatives. It also provides information and articles on the recently imposed cryptography restrictions. ---------------------------------------------------------------30----------- ---------------------------------------------------- The Electronic Frontier Foundation is one of the leading civil liberties organizations devoted to ensuring that the Internet remains the world's first truly global vehicle for free speech, and that the privacy and security of all on-line communication is preserved. Founded in 1990 as a nonprofit, public interest organization, EFF is based in San Francisco, California and maintains an extensive archive of information on free speech, privacy, and encryption policy at http://www.eff.org. Zero-Knowledge Systems Inc., http://www.zks.net, is a Canadian based software developer dedicated to providing cryptographic solutions for the privacy and security of Internet users. They will be launching their first product called Freedom(tm) in February 1999. For more information, contact: Nicola Dourambeis Alex Fowler, Marketing Associate Director of Public Affairs Zero-Knowledge Systems Inc. Electronic Frontier Foundation Tel. (514) 286-2636 ext. 222 Tel. (415) 436-9333 ext. 103 Email. nicola(a)zks.net Email. afowler(a)eff.org --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: rah(a)philodox.com> Philodox Financial Technology Evangelism <http://www.philodox.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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What happened to this NY Times article on STOA and Echelon?
by Ernest Hua 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Does anyone have any idea what happened to this article on STOA and Echelon? http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/nytimes.htm I cannot seem to find it in the NY Times archives. Is it really from 1998? Could it be from 1997? Anyone been in contact with the author? Ern

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COMMENT: Minimum Security Devices and Procedures and Bank Secrecy
by Max Inux 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

A letter someone CC'ed to dc-stuff, we seem to be having the same conversations there and here... Waasenaar and FDIC "Know your customer" -- Max Inux <maxinux(a)openpgp.net> Hey Christy!!! KeyID 0x8907E9E5 Kinky Sex makes the world go round O R Strong crypto makes the world safe If crypto is outlawed only outlaws will have crypto Fingerprint(Photo Also): 259D 59F7 D98C CD73 1ACD 54Ea 6C43 4877 8907 E9E5 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 07:13:55 -0800 (PST) X-Loop: openpgp.net From: KAT in the HAT <katinthehat(a)rocketmail.com> To: comments(a)FDIC.gov Subject: COMMENT: Minimum Security Devices and Procedures and Bank Secrecy Act I would like to state that this is the most Orwellian, privacy-invading, search-without-a-warrant, snoopy regulation I have ever seen. I believe it is a horrible idea that should never be allowed. I am growing so tired of my government trying to monitor it's every citizen's every move just in case there may be a criminal act committed. Every citizen is innocent until proven guilty and has a right to privacy against such causeless searches. As the 4th amendment to the Constitution of the United States says (have you ever heard of it?): "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, SHALL NOT BE VIOLATED, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oaths and affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." What you advocate is a warrantless search of all my financial papers and effects without probable cause or evidence of any sort of crime being committed. This kind of nosy government action is exactly the kind of thing that should never be allowed in a free state. I will fight to keep my nation from becoming a 24- hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week monitored police state until my last breath. I urge you to vote against this ghastly measure and to banish it and any act like it to the trashcan. The citizens of the United States deserve better than to be treated like children watched over by Mother Government. If this act is passed, I know what my response will be. I will promptly withdraw all my monies from any institution that follows these regulations, refuse to do any sort of business with them, and urge all my friends and family to do the same. I know that many others will do the same without hesitation. Try explaining to your member and nonmember banks why there is such a sudden cash shortage and why they are losing customers left and right. This act would undoubtedly trigger a nationwide economic crisis as people withdrew from a banking system that had become a puppet of law enforcement and Big Brother. We must be able to TRUST our banks with our money. WE are the customers and any bank that holds goverment surveillance above my trust is no bank that I will do business with. I will simply take my paychecks each month and cash them in their entirety and then do what I want, when I want, unwatched, with my money. I will not be surveilled by Big Brother under the guise of protecting me against shadowy criminals. I value my privacy highly, not because I am a criminal, but because I am a free American, and such privacy is guaranteed to me by our highest legal document (the Constitution). I recommend the FDIC members read it sometime, because obviously they never have before, or this ludicrous act would have never even been proposed. Simply put, this is the worst idea I have ever heard and strongly urge its defeat and nonadoption. Thank you. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The masters of technology will have to be lighthearted and intelligent. The machine easily masters the grim and the dumb. --Marshall McLuhan =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

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