December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: PGP posting validation
by drzaphod＠brewmeister.xstablu.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Robert A. Hayden [hayden(a)krypton.mankato.msus.edu] wrote: > > Here's my two cents' worth- how about a filter on incoming mail to the list > > that performs these functions: > > 1) check the incoming post for a PGP signature > > 2) If a sig is found, check it against the list's public keyring Hmm.. this would allow us to prove that THE LIST thinks he's who he says he is.. or who THE LIST tells us he is.. Now, I am not paranoid against THE LIST, but I suggest that THE PEOPLE should not filter THEIR thoughts. What of censorship [on an aside, is there a censor apprenticeship? Why the 'ship?']!? If you must censor.. censor your own messages with filters running on your own machine.. maybe even publish your filter list to the net so we can all understand each other. Remember that there will always be a percentage of noise in any public forum.. there is no average without these outliers. For a group SO interested in RANDOM numbers, some people sure do want to organize everything. TTFN. -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - DrZaphod #Don't Come Any Closer Or I'll Encrypt! - - [AC/DC] / [DnA][HP] #Xcitement thru Technology and Creativity - - [drzaphod(a)brewmeister.xstablu.com] [MindPolice Censored This Bit] - - 50 19 1C F3 5F 34 53 B7 B9 BB 7A 40 37 67 09 5B - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

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TC May, Taxes and Colored People
by anonymous＠extropia.wimsey.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Graham Toal <gtoal(a)pizzabox.demon.co.uk> writes: gt: >Subject: Re: neo-nazis "supported" by NETCOM gt: >Newsgroups: netcom.general gt: gt: In article <tcmayCJMv4q.3wq(a)netcom.com> tcmay(a)netcom.com writes: gt: > gt: >And I appreciate that Netcom has never once warned my for what many of gt: >my critics have called seditious postings. It is true that I look gt: >forward to seeing the collapse of the U.S. governement and the end to gt: >the taxation that steals from me to give to so-called "people of gt: >color." gt: > gt: >Some call me a Nazi, which is wrong. I use Netcom to spread strong gt: >cryptography, the tool which will help overthrow the corrupt U.S. gt: >government and usher in anarcho-capitalism. gt: > gt: >If this view interests you, contact me about joining the "Cypherpunks" gt: >mailing list. gt: > gt: >--Tim May As a tax-paying colored person I share Tim's concerns about the disposition of my tax money by the U.S. government. My parents, who are also colored, and many of my colored friends, relatives and acquaintances also pay taxes. However, given all of the questionable governmental expenditures (clipper, et. al) that are usually talked about, singling out "so-called 'people of color'" seems a bit peculiar; especially as part of a recruitment drive for a cryptography list. Surely, there are more interesting reasons to join the list. (And, as we celebrate his birthday this weekend, let's not forget that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a victim of FBI wiretapping). HasnUt the U.S. government done worse than give TimUs money to colored folk? Just as Tim anxiously awaits the "collapse of the U.S. government," many colored people in our fair land once awaited an end to slavery (a wait that ran around 300 years or more - Patience Tim). Colored people have thought about the U.S. government quite a bit over the years. Well...we'll see if strong cryptography is indeed Tim's "underground railroad" to the "promised land" of anarcho-capitalism. <Rodney King> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.3 iQCVAgUBLTmkTrcOmH2KTo5BAQGVygP/SM/8nvOWzHgWj1ogSGPgofwG3DaRD3so pir+i4qAsRvmj/LaankoH4T6dL7HQoqqhLcmK1A44Ni6w08Vr/Zxme5lsv8AL207 Ye/HgtxUlecraE2ULScR3S+7WIdJN7+ljLnyemdHyMGzc1d+r2xh+UxHtvazncfK QDuWPUL7eVg= =xupK -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.3 mQCPAi05oMkAAAEEAMeHmva0y3bqUVFlrRLto4UIrLtwK58TVOKNrPRMn/SMD7qs ei083E8ftwy4L0xRw9QDGJwVRoAcfSEeCEa4seWWnDLV+NptzSMnUm5FiqUuZ5i3 Dr0fQzc6oI2e6gxwXo1TgmcocTv8cQwFNA8M6oJL0KCC/0v3frcOmH2KTo5BABEB AAG0C1JvZG5leSBLaW5niQCVAgUQLTmh6rcOmH2KTo5BAQF9qAP/Vfrmvohhuwtp ODfsmnw6S2hOZCYx5dlwJYELuT4RD+a5xKjGllHADfKhPSryqk3dQdDqtU2w2IEv U6RMkyHIdBNcGGoZO3Wc4yfCz3UArdW8wFD6b+UWyDHl+1PCVGi2Z5q4frwlQCQr le9H7XqSszYoIAvGTaDSXgcQUmUW144= =P0PB -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

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message (fwd)
by Al Billings 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Something found on another list... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: nobody(a)CICADA.BERKELEY.EDU Subject: *SQUISH* THE TENTACLES IN CYBERSPACE!! To: MIND-L(a)asylum.sf.ca.us Message-id: <9401161201.AA32913(a)cicada.berkeley.edu> Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Remailed-By: Tommy the Tourist <tommy@out> INTRODUCING === ##### #### ## ## #### ##### ## ## ### ## ## ## ## ## ### ## ## #### ## ## ## ## ## #### ###### ### ## ## ## ## ## ### ## ## ##### ###\\ #### #### ##### ## ## ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Introducing the SECRETLY QUIZZICAL UNIFIED INTERNET SNAKE HUNT! * THOUSANDS OF CONTESTANTS * HUGE CASH PRIZES * * FASCINATING DISCOVERIES * HEDONISTIC DELIGHTS * * FANTASTIC FUN FOR EVERYONE * ENDLESS ENTERTAINMENT * CONTENTS ======== - INTRODUCTION - UPDATES - DEADLINE - THE CASH PRIZE - MORE ABOUT `SQUISH' & `FACE' - QUESTIONS === The recent WHITE HOT interest by multiple groups and individuals in the CYBERANARCHIST TENTACLE INFILTRATIONS into the Internet have inspired an EXCITING NEW CONTEST and COMPETITION! we, the Federation of Associations of Cyberspace Everywhere (FACE), announce the SUPREMELY QUACKY UNIFIED INTERNET SNAKE HUNT! (SQUISH) * THOUSANDS OF CONTESTANTS * HUGE CASH PRIZES * * FASCINATING DISCOVERIES * HEDONISTIC DELIGHTS * * FANTASTIC FUN FOR EVERYONE * FAMOUS PARTICIPANTS * UPDATES === updates on the SQUISH contest will be posted regularly. Send in notice of the more spectacular point accumulations with proof for verifications immediately and the Halls of Fame and Shame. Unverified points are not valid toward the cash prize. DEADLINE === TIME IS RUNNING OUT! AVOID INQUIRING FURTHER OR WAITING FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS. START IMMEDIATELY! MONTHS OF PARTICIPATION ARE REQUIRED TO ACCUMULATE COMPETITIVE STANDING. SOME PARTICIPANTS ALREADY HAVE A HEAD START. THE CASH PRIZE WILL BE AWARDED APRIL 1, 1994. FURTHER INCREMENTS WILL BE AWARDED AT YEARLY INTERVALS THEREAFTER. MORE ABOUT `SQUISH' AND `FACE' === The Federation of Associations of Cyberspace, Everywhere was founded in 1994 as a group that coordinates the activities among the many different online organizations. We have played a very low-profile role to date, and wanted to find some way of promoting our newfound alliance. We have groups combined from BBSes, local area networks, the Internet, and other global and local networks around the world (see below). We have built up some membership funds from the contributing organizations and private contributions to provide the prize money for SQUISH, and some private individuals have donated significant amounts. The contest was inspired by S.Boxx, who was the architect of point classifications and the current opponent lists. S.Boxx has also promised to provide any funds necessary for the successful completion of the contest. We hope that recent interest into snakes and tentacles by many on the Internet will make the contest spirited entertainment and a strong success. We encourage reporters and the media to use this announcement as our official press release. Feel free to redistribute or comment on this announcement in any forum. QUESTIONS === Address further questions to cypherpunks(a)toad.com, gnu(a)toad.com, tcmay(a)netcom.com, or hughes(a)ah.com. Some additional information is available in RISKS 15.25, 15.27, 15.28x: ftp CRVAX.SRI.COM, login anonymous, directory RISKS: (include the colon), file RISKS-i.j === ///// //// // // //// ///// // // /// // // // // // /// // // //// // // // // // //// ////// /// // // // // // /// // // ///// ///\\ //// //// ///// // // ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Introducing the STELLARLY QUOTABLE INTERNET SNAKE HUNT! === Brought to you as a coordinated effort between the individuals * S.BOXX * MEDUSA * INFOCALYPSE * THE EXECUTIONER * PABLO ESCOBAR * DEADBEAT and the Federation of Associations of Cyberspace Everywhere (FACE) * ILF (INFORMATION LIBERATION FRONT) * BLACKNET (INTERNET ESPIONAGE COORDINATION HEADQUARTERS) * BLOODNET (CYBERSPATIAL BLACK MARKETEERING AND LIQUIDATION SQUAD) * CRAM (CYBERSPATIAL REALITY ADVANCEMENT MOVEMENT) * CRaP (CYBERANARCHIST REPRESSION AND POISON) * CY{B,PH}ER{PU,WO}NKS === * THOUSANDS OF CONTESTANTS * HUGE CASH PRIZES * * FASCINATING DISCOVERIES * HEDONISTIC DELIGHTS * * FANTASTIC FUN FOR EVERYONE * CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS * * GRISLY DEATH TORTURE * JUDGEMENT DAY * APOCALYPSE NOW *

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[remailer@dis.org (remailer bogus account): THE *GREATEST* MOMENT IN CYBERSPATIAL HISTORY!!]
by Lee Wittenberg 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Please make sure I don't get this anymore. Thank you. --------------- Received: from TURBO.Kean.EDU by pilot.njin.net (5.59/SMI4.0/RU1.5/3.08) id AA29225; Sun, 16 Jan 94 00:49:22 EST Received: from soda.berkeley.edu by TURBO.Kean.EDU; 16 Jan 94 00:40:20 EST Received: from merde.dis.org (uucp@localhost) by soda.berkeley.edu (8.6.4/PHILMAIL-1.10) with UUCP id VAA10287 for SIGPAST(a)List.Kean.EDU; Sat, 15 Jan 1994 21:23:19 -0800 Received: by merde.dis.org (4.1/SMI-4.2) id AA17326; Sat, 15 Jan 94 21:21:11 PST Date: Sat, 15 Jan 94 21:21:11 PST From: remailer(a)dis.org (remailer bogus account) Message-Id: <9401160521.AA17326(a)merde.dis.org> To: SIGPAST(a)list.kean.edu Subject: THE *GREATEST* MOMENT IN CYBERSPATIAL HISTORY!! Remailed-By: remailer bogus account <remailer(a)utter.dis.org> Reply-To: SIGPAST(a)list.kean.edu, remailer(a)dis.org (remailer bogus account) DO NOT REDISTRIBUTE. === ##### #### ## ## #### ##### ## ## ### ## ## ## ## ## ### ## ## #### ## ## ## ## ## #### ###### ### ## ## ## ## ## ### ## ## ##### ###\\ #### #### ##### ## ## ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Introducing the SOPHOMORIC QUARTERLY UNIFIED INTERNET SNAKE HUNT! * THOUSANDS OF CONTESTANTS * HUGE CASH PRIZES * * FASCINATING DISCOVERIES * HEDONISTIC DELIGHTS * * FANTASTIC FUN FOR EVERYONE * ENDLESS ENTERTAINMENT * CONTENTS ======== - INTRODUCTION - OBJECT OF SQUISH - SQUISH DIRECTIONS - UPDATES - THE CASH PRIZE - DEADLINE - MORE ABOUT `SQUISH' & `FACE' - QUESTIONS === The recent WHITE HOT interest by multiple groups and individuals in the CYBERANARCHIST TENTACLE INFILTRATIONS into the Internet have inspired an EXCITING NEW CONTEST and COMPETITION! we, the Federation of Associations of Cyberspace Everywhere (FACE), announce the SUPREMELY QUACKY UNIFIED INTERNET SNAKE HUNT! (SQUISH) * THOUSANDS OF CONTESTANTS * HUGE CASH PRIZES * * FASCINATING DISCOVERIES * HEDONISTIC DELIGHTS * * FANTASTIC FUN FOR EVERYONE * FAMOUS PARTICIPANTS * === OBJECT OF SQUISH the OBJECT of SQUISH is to find TENTACLES and SNAKES. A TENTACLE is an email address used by a real person for the purpose of concealing their identity from others. A SNAKE is a TENTACLE that is particularly wicked and evil and will lie and trick others into believing the TENTACLE is real. In words, the more consequential and malicious a TENTACLE, the more it is a SNAKE. Different points are awarded for playing. Anyone who can send mail can play! The simplest and cheapest points come from sending email to suspected SNAKES and TENTACLES, and chalking up points depending on the responses. Larger points are awarded for `real world' interactions such as calling suspected tentacles and snakes at their telephone numbers. When a snake or tentacle gets upset in response to mail, it is said to be QUIVERING. It will go through CONTORTIONS to convince you to leave it alone and may begin to SQUIRM if you persist. When people are not writing through fake email addresses, they are said to be using their TRUE NAME. TRUE NAMES may go through quivering, contortions, and squirming too. Sometimes snakes or tentacles may threaten to stop using an email account entirely. Some of the TRUE NAMES are BIG MACS and some are SMALL FRIES. Much larger points are awarded for exposing the BIG MACS, but some points are available for SMALL FRIES. BIG MACS are famous people on the Internet-- people that no one would expect have snakes and tentacles, or have media stories written about them. Massive points are awarded for BIG MAC exposures. Matches take place in Cyberspace on the PLAYFIELD, with different regions consisting of INFECTED OUTLETS, CRIME SCENES, and KILLING FIELDS. A KILLING FIELD is a place where a tentacle and a player compete or a Big Mac is assaulted. INFECTED OUTLETS are media outlets or journals that carry BIG MAC propaganda, disinformation, or lies. A CRIME SCENE is a place where provably illegal activity takes place, e.g. someone passes a bribe. The grand point prizes go to anyone who can expose MEDUSA. MEDUSA is the leader of all SMALL FRIES and BIG MACS, a wicked, evil incarnation of SATAN on the Internet. She is the originator and chief proseletyzer of the art, science, and religion of lies. MEDUSA has dozens of SNAKES all over the Internet, particularly in extremely sensitive areas such as Internet protocol development (e.g. mercantile or digital cash protocols), posting from public access sites and even `covers' and `front' sites, these are called POISON NEEDLES. Corrupt administrators are always either BIG MACS or SMALL FRIES. Some sites have administrators who are unaware or apathetic toward infiltrations, these are called PAWNS. MEDUSA is the orchestrator of a MASSIVE INTERNATIONAL CONSPIRACY to STRANGLE, SABOTAGE, and POISON THE INTERNET. Anyone who can drive MEDUSA and all the corrupt BIG MACS from Cyberspace and the real world forever is called THE SAVIOR and said to have DRIVEN THE PHARISEES FROM THE TEMPLE. However, the player must avoid being CRUCIFIED or the cash award will not be given. POINTS can be traded in for COLD CASH. The first person with more than 500 points gets A DOLLAR PER POINT (some restrictions apply, not valid in all areas, void where prohibited by law, taxes may vary). * THOUSANDS OF CONTESTANTS * HUGE CASH PRIZES * * FASCINATING DISCOVERIES * HEDONISTIC DELIGHTS * * FANTASTIC FUN FOR EVERYONE * MYSTERIES OF THE UNKNOWN * === SQUISH DIRECTIONS 1. Consult the list of SUSPECTED SMALL FRIES, BIG MACS, SNAKES, TENTACLES, MEDUSA & SISTERS, and POISON NEEDLES below. Send mail to any attempting to discover whether they are real or fake, or have knowledge of other BIG MACS or even MEDUSA. 2. When you get CONTORTIONS or SQUIRMS, or mount COUNTERMEASURES, keep track of your all your points in a file. Ratings are listed under RATINGS below. List the persons and email addresses involved and quote the actual mail. Keep permanent and complete records of all mail. 3. The biggest points are awarded for the greatest deceptions. Some snakes in the lists below (the most deceitful ones) have actually installed out-of-state phone numbers, developed software for coordination, and have an international arsenal of infiltration points. 4. In particular go after the BIG MACS and MEDUSA, where the most fantastic points are awarded. Some BIG MACS know of MEDUSA; they are called MEDUSA'S SISTERS. 5. The categories listed below of SUSPECTED SNAKES, TENTACLES, ACCOMPLICES, BIG MACS, and MEDUSA are not conclusive or definitive. In particular, some people in these lists may be INNOCENT BYSTANDERS, and their harassment should be minimized. But, be careful! the SNAKES, TENTACLES, ACCOMPLICES, BIG MACS, and MEDUSA will all claim to be INNOCENT BYSTANDERS. (rules subject to change without notice. watch for further announcements.) * THOUSANDS OF CONTESTANTS * HUGE CASH PRIZES * * FASCINATING DISCOVERIES * HEDONISTIC DELIGHTS * * FANTASTIC FUN FOR EVERYONE * SECRET CONSPIRACIES * UPDATES === updates on the SQUISH contest will be posted regularly. Send in notice of the more spectacular point accumulations with proof for verifications immediately and the Halls of Fame and Shame. Unverified points are not valid toward the cash prize. THE CASH PRIZE === A cash prize will be awarded to the first person to surpass 500 points, one dollar per point. The person may continue playing to continue to gain cash. Further awards may be presented to close contenders. Some restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Tax not included. In the case of deceased victims the award will be given to the nearest living relative, or the Federation of Associations of Cyberspace Everywhere (FACE) if all relatives have met mysterious fatal accidents as well. If the world economies have collapsed from cyberanarchist sabotage before the award is granted, no further action is necessary (this constitutes the final sign of the Apocalypse). DEADLINE === TIME IS RUNNING OUT! AVOID INQUIRING FURTHER OR WAITING FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS. START IMMEDIATELY! MONTHS OF PARTICIPATION ARE REQUIRED TO ACCUMULATE COMPETITIVE STANDING. SOME PARTICIPANTS ALREADY HAVE A HEAD START. THE CASH PRIZE WILL BE AWARDED APRIL 1, 1994. FURTHER INCREMENTS WILL BE AWARDED AT YEARLY INTERVALS THEREAFTER. MORE ABOUT `SQUISH' AND `FACE' === The Federation of Associations of Cyberspace, Everywhere was founded in 1994 as a group that coordinates the activities among the many different online organizations. We have played a very low-profile role to date, and wanted to find some way of promoting our newfound alliance. We have groups combined from BBSes, local area networks, the Internet, and other global and local networks around the world (see below). We have built up some membership funds from the contributing organizations and private contributions to provide the prize money for SQUISH, and some private individuals have donated significant amounts. The contest was inspired by S.Boxx, who was the architect of point classifications and the current opponent lists. S.Boxx has also promised to provide any funds necessary for the successful completion of the contest. We hope that recent interest into snakes and tentacles by many on the Internet will make the contest spirited entertainment and a strong success. We encourage reporters and the media to use this announcement as our official press release. Feel free to redistribute or comment on this announcement in any forum. QUESTIONS === Address further questions to cypherpunks(a)toad.com, gnu(a)toad.com, tcmay(a)netcom.com, or hughes(a)ah.com. Some additional information is available in RISKS 15.25, 15.27, 15.28x: ftp CRVAX.SRI.COM, login anonymous, directory RISKS: (include the colon), file RISKS-i.j === ///// //// // // //// ///// // // /// // // // // // /// // // //// // // // // // //// ////// /// // // // // // /// // // ///// ///\\ //// //// ///// // // ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Introducing the SUGGESTIVELY QUESTIONABLE UNIFIED INTERNET SNAKE HUNT! === Brought to you as a coordinated effort between the individuals * S.BOXX * MEDUSA * INFOCALYPSE * THE EXECUTIONER * PABLO ESCOBAR * DEADBEAT and the Federation of Associations of Cyberspace Everywhere (FACE) * ILF (INFORMATION LIBERATION FRONT) * BLACKNET (INTERNET ESPIONAGE COORDINATION HEADQUARTERS) * BLOODNET (CYBERSPATIAL BLACK MARKETEERING AND LIQUIDATION SQUAD) * CRAM (CYBERSPATIAL REALITY ADVANCEMENT MOVEMENT) * CRaP (CYBERANARCHIST REPRESSION AND POISON) * CY{B,PH}ER{PU,WO}NKS === * THOUSANDS OF CONTESTANTS * HUGE CASH PRIZES * * FASCINATING DISCOVERIES * HEDONISTIC DELIGHTS * * FANTASTIC FUN FOR EVERYONE * CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS * * GRISLY DEATH TORTURE * JUDGEMENT DAY * APOCALYPSE NOW *

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Re: Crypto and taxes
by Duncan Frissell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

To: cypherpunks(a)toad.com Perry says: P >Perhaps not. Its very common in many large business conducted here in P >New York in certain seemingly legitimate industries for much of the P >business to be conducted off the books -- people who will take cash P >for work are sought after. I will not name the industry in question, P >but it is one of the few major ones left in the city and it isn't P >finance. The size of NYC's underground economy can be proven by the fact that almost any mortgage lender will give you a "No Income Verification" loan for a residential property. They don't care where you get the dough from as long as you have a good record of making payments (they still do a credit check). DCF --- WinQwk 2.0b#1165

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Re: message
by nobody＠cicada.berkeley.edu 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> Something found on another list... > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > From: nobody(a)CICADA.BERKELEY.EDU > Subject: *SQUISH* THE TENTACLES IN CYBERSPACE!! > To: MIND-L(a)asylum.sf.ca.us So that's why all those weirdos have been showing up here lately. Detweiler is really becoming a nuisance...

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UNSUBSCRIBE
by Bruce Pea 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

UNSUBSCRIBE

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Unix joke.
by ltech1!ltech1!mercury＠msen.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I'm leaving for now, but I thought I'd share this with you. Even though you get !!!!! in all your mail, you can't really use the ! in your mail command. I tried to mail to someone!account(a)system.net and I got an "Event not found" error. So I made this up: mail !Superbowl Superbowl: Event not found (bye)

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Re: PGP posting validation
by Matthew J Ghio 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Just to throw in my two cents worth: How about this: Subscribes to the list (or anyone) can register their public keys with a special keyserver that is part of the mailing list software. Then, on any posts made thereafter, signed with that public key, the list software would append a header identifying the sender, their public key ID, and their key fingerprint/md5-hash. To prevent spoofing by registering false key IDs, the system could keep a reputation on each key, and report the number of days that key had been registered, and the number of posts. For example, a typical header might look like: From: John Doe <jd(a)net.com> Subject: Whatever Date: Tue, 27 May 1996 02:19:35 GMT PGP-Authenticated-As: 1296A5/1F5A6792E5609CD7A932B1C82CAE934F; John Doe PGP-Key-Reputation: 372d / 197p Assuming that John Doe had been on the list over a year (372 days) and had made 197 posts. If suddenly a post appeared: From: John Doe <jd(a)net.com> Subject: Detweiler Date: Tue, 29 May 1996 18:23:56 GMT PGP-Authentication: Unknown Key It would indicate that it was signed with a key that the system didn't have in its database; an obvious forgery. Hovever if the spoofer was able to register a false public key with the server, with John Doe's name on it: From: John Doe <jd(a)net.com> Subject: SQUISH Date: Tue, 29 May 1996 23:39:47 GMT PGP-Authenticated-As: 1296A5/6A1DFF5A49D56029B725E05609C0D7A9; John Doe PGP-Key-Reputation: 0d / 0p It would still be an obvious forgery, because the key had no reputation. Anonymous users might like this feature, because they could identify their posts without exposing their email addresses. I don't think it's really necessary to block posts from people who don't sign them, there are circumstances where it's not feasible to do so, but perhaps a warning could be added such as: PGP-Authentication: None

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Markoff article on encryption
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

extracted from: RISKS-FORUM Digest Saturday 15 January 1994 Volume 15 : Issue 38 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jan 94 9:38:33 PST From: "Peter G. Neumann" <neumann(a)csl.sri.com> Subject: "INDUSTRY DEFIES CLINTON ON DATA ENCRYPTION" -- John Markoff [The following item is copyrighted by the 1994 N.Y. Times, and appeared on Thursday, 13 Jan 1994. It is reproduced in RISKS with the permission of its author. Any further reuse requires permission of the New York Times. PGN] REDWOOD CITY, Calif. The Clinton administration's newly articulated information technology policy of persuasion, rather than dictation, is getting an early test. At an industry conference in Redwood City this week, computer hardware, software and telecommunications companies as well as a major bank, are saying they intend to adopt an industry coding standard for protecting the privacy of electronic communications, rather than support a standard being pushed by the administration. Unlike the administration-backed standard, the technology, which has been commercialized by RSA Data Security Inc., does not provide an electronic ``trapdoor'' that would enable law-enforcement agencies to eavesdrop on digital communications. The administration, whose standard is known as the Clipper chip, contends that a trapdoor is necessary to detect criminal activity or espionage because sophisticated encryption techniques can make digital phone calls or computer communications nearly impervious to wiretaps. Wednesday, Hewlett Packard Co. became the last of the leading United States computer companies to license the RSA software, joining Apple Computer, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Digital Equipment and Unisys. Several companies announced at the conference that they planned to begin selling products that embed RSA's software. Among them are General Magic, a software developer; National Semiconductor; a consortium of five cellular data companies, and Bankers Trust Co. The conference was sponsored by RSA, which is based in Redwood City, and attracted many of the nation's best non-government cryptographers a group of code makers and code breakers who have generally been hostile to any form of government restrictions on their technology. They have sparred for more than a decade with the National Security Agency, the main proponent of the Clipper chip. The agency is responsible for monitoring electronic communications worldwide for the government, in the name of national security. In addition to opposition from the cryptographers, the government's Clipper chip proposal has already stirred bitter opposition from civil liberties organizations and computer user groups, who fear the Clipper chip would make electronic communications too easy for anyone to eavesdrop. Now the industry's rush to embrace an encryption standard that does not provide a way for the government to listen to data or voice conversations is certain to put new pressure on the Clinton administration, which is now in the final stages of a classified review of its Clipper standard. ``It's clear that what is going on here today is contrary to the way the NSA wants the world to move,'' said Lynn McNulty, associate director for computer security at the National Institute for Standards and Technology, a Commerce Department agency. The institute proposed the Clipper standard last April, although most of its technical development was done by NSA researchers. Despite their defiance, researchers attending the conference worried that the government might still have the means to enforce its vision of a coding standard. ``They have the trump card that we don't have,'' said Bruce Schneier, a former government cryptography researcher, who is the author of a textbook titled ``Applied Cryptography.'' ``They could make it a law that it's mandatory to use their standard.'' ------------------------------

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