December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Knights who say NII (
by Duncan Frissell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

M >Government is not the only potential source of harm--private industry M >can be plenty harmful. Prove it. Sans guns there's not much private institutions can do. That's the problem with letting leftists hang around here. (Just kidding folks.) They're not worried about governments with nukes and centuries of a tradition of slaughtering millions of people but they are worried about private entities who've hardly killed anyone. Most NGO (non governmental organization) problems are actually misclassifications. Analysts confusing NGO+Government conspiracies with NGOs alone. I can live next to a Chevy dealer for 80 years without him sending armed men next door to my house to get me to buy a car. Bell Atlantic is a bad thing only because it used to have a government granted local loop monopoly. Since that monopoly is as dead as a doornail no matter what Bell Atlantic or the government thinks about the matter, BA (and indeed the government itself) are just market actors. As soon as we (and they) recognize their new status, we'll be better off. May you live in interesting times. DCF --- WinQwk 2.0b#1165

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EFF Op-Ed from the NY Tim
by Duncan Frissell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

N >The amount of electronic material the superhighway can carry is N >dizzying compared to the relatively narrow range of broadcast TV and N >the limited number of cable channels. Properly constructed and N >regulated, it could be open to all who wish to speak, publish and N >communicate. How is it possible to prevent it with or without government action. Since the information superhighway will be carrying "phone calls" and since there will be absolutely no difference between "phone calls" and everything else on the system, "phone calls" can carry everything. If we don't like corporate offerings "phone calls" can be used to disseminate whatever we like. Phone and cable services were limited because they were government monopolies. The only way to assure that future networks don't suffer from these problems, is to eliminate government regulation/monopoly. The market smashed IBMs closed platform computer system without government help. There is no risk that Bell Atlantic could impose a closed network system unless the government helps it. To the contrary, I doubt if they would be able to do it even *with* government help. And another thing. I'm sick and tired of moaning about cost. Services are virtually free today and prices can go nowhere but down. There are homeless people on the streets of NY with Internet accounts. The hardware cost of a computer is essentially zero. What exactly is the fair market value of a Commodore Vic 20 and a Commodore 300 baud modem. I know I can get an XT+1200 baud modem + shareware comms program for circa $100 at any computer show in NJ. Once your local loop monopoly is broken, local phone service will be dirt cheap. Network Email connections via local BBS are cheap. AT&T Mail charges a big $3/month for an Email account (with 800 number). Most network services are reachable via Email gateways. The real prices of almost all open market goods have fallen dramatically since WWII. This has particularly been the case in telecoms and electronics. This decline will continue. We need market discipline not government discipline to open up network access. DCF --- WinQwk 2.0b#1165

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Who is this Detweiler guy anyway?
by an48848＠anon.penet.fi 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

As a fairly recent addition to this list, I'm unfamilliar with the history of cypherpunks. Can anyone enlighten me? Thanks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To find out more about the anon service, send mail to help(a)anon.penet.fi. Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized, and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned. Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to admin(a)anon.penet.fi.

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Re: EFF Op-Ed from the NY Tim
by dmandl＠lehman.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> From: Duncan Frissell <frissell(a)panix.com> > > And another thing. I'm sick and tired of moaning about cost. Services > are virtually free today and prices can go nowhere but down. There are > homeless people on the streets of NY with Internet accounts. Got a list of their names? --Dave.

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Two items from recent magazines...
by tcmay＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Two items form recent magazines: * "Time" (on the newstands now) has an article on the Internet and its rapid growth and uses John Gilmore's wonderful quote: "The Internet interprets censorship as damage and routes around it." (may not be his exact phrasing) * Pseudospoofing detectors? "The Economist," November 20, has an article "Hidden Agenda" which describes how an outfit named CHI Research in New Jersey uses its 12-year data base of U.S. patents to determine who is really doing what. Apparently some companies try to obscure what they're doing by using different "inventors"...sounds fishy to me (I'd be pissed if my invention got credited to someone else). Anyway, CHI uses various techniques to deduce actual inventors, what companies are doing what, etc. Then he sells the conclusions. This fits with some of the themes we discuss here, both for our own use and in terms of what our opponents may be doing. --Tim May -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay(a)netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^756839 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. Note: I put time and money into writing this posting. I hope you enjoy it.

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Cryptosplit 2.0
by gtoal＠an-teallach.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

In article <9311291648.AA25233(a)jobe.shell.portal.com> hfinney(a)shell.portal.com "Hal Finney" writes: > I once proposed a DOS TSR (a "background" program) which would monitor > your keystrokes all day long and condense the timing data into a file > full of random bits. Then you'd use up the bits when you needed to do > cryptography. I haven't learned enough about DOS to write such a > thing, though. I'm doing this for unix this weekend. One very important point to note: only take *one* bit of random data per keystroke, and take it by ex-oring every single bit in the clock() value - that way you make sure the randomly fluctuating one is in there - because on some systems the bottom bit might always be 0, if the resolution of the clock is low. Also, think about the problems if you have a function that returns milliseconds but the hardware clock is one tick, say, every 1/17 sec... G -- Personal mail to gtoal(a)gtoal.com (I read it in the evenings) Business mail to gtoal(a)an-teallach.com (Be careful with the spelling!) Faxes to An Teallach Limited: +44 31 662 4678 Voice: +44 31 668 1550 x212

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Let's Talk About Solutions
by gtoal＠an-teallach.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

In article <199311291601.LAA15061(a)eff.org> mnemonic(a)eff.org "Mike Godwin" writes: > For some, adequate solutions may already be in place. But I note that for > "mere users" (as distinct from sophisticated users and programmers), > current filtering tools are difficult to use. What can make this better? So, you have an objection to the net evolving into a technocratic class system? I see nothing wrong with letting people suffer who haven't the competancy to protect themselves for net.idiots. That's practically the entire basis of the Amercian enconomic system after all... G -- Personal mail to gtoal(a)gtoal.com (I read it in the evenings) Business mail to gtoal(a)an-teallach.com (Be careful with the spelling!) Faxes to An Teallach Limited: +44 31 662 4678 Voice: +44 31 668 1550 x212

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Let's Talk About Solutions
by gtoal＠an-teallach.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

In article <9311291759.AA00573(a)snark.lehman.com> pmetzger(a)lehman.com writes: > As a practice, removing people is simple, cheap, and astonishingly > effective. > > Perry Bye Perry! (What, you don't think you'd be one of the first to be kicked out if we started doing that here? Cast your bread apon the waters and it will be returned to you manyfold...) G -- Personal mail to gtoal(a)gtoal.com (I read it in the evenings) Business mail to gtoal(a)an-teallach.com (Be careful with the spelling!) Faxes to An Teallach Limited: +44 31 662 4678 Voice: +44 31 668 1550 x212

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New Docs Reveal NSA Role in
by Dave Banisar 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

New Docs Reveal NSA Role in Telephony Proposal >From the CPSR Alert 2.06 (Dec. 1, 1993) New Docs Reveal NSA Involvement in Digital Telephony Proposal A series of memoranda received by CPSR from the Department of Commerce last week indicate that the National Security Agency was actively involved in the 1992 FBI Digital Telephony Proposal. Two weeks ago, documents received by CPSR indicated that the FBI proposal, code named "Operation Root Canal," was pushed forward even after reports from the field found no cases where electronic surveillance was hampered by new technologies. The documents also revealed that the Digital Signature Standard was viewed by the FBI as "[t]he first step in our plan to deal with the encryption issue." The earliest memo is dated July 5, 1991, just a few weeks after the Senate withdrew a Sense of Congress provision from S-266, the Omnibus Crime Bill of 1991, that encouraged service and equipment providers to ensure that their equipment would "permit the government to obtain the plain text contents of voice, data and other communications...." The documents consist of a series of fax transmittal sheets and memos from the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Commerce to the National Security Agency. Many attachments and drafts, including more detailed descriptions of the NSA's proposals, were withheld or released with substantial deletions. Also included in the documents is a previously released public statement by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration entitled "Technological Competitiveness and Policy Concerns." The document was requested by Rep. Jack Brooks and states that the proposal could obstruct or distort telecommunications technology development by limiting fiber optic transmission, ISDN, digital cellular services and other technologies until they are modified, ... could impair the security of business communications ... that could facilitate not only lawful government interception, but unlawful interception by others, [and] could impose industries ability to offer new services and technologies. CPSR is planning to appeal the Commerce Department's decision to withhold many of the documents. To subscribe to the Alert, send the message: "subscribe cpsr <your name>" (without quotes or brackets) to listserv(a)gwuvm.gwu.edu. Back issues of the Alert are available at the CPSR Internet Library FTP/WAIS/Gopher cpsr.org /cpsr/alert Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility is a national, non-partisan, public-interest organization dedicated to understanding and directing the impact of computers on society. Founded in 1981, CPSR has 2000 members from all over the world and 22 chapters across the country. Our National Advisory Board includes a Nobel laureate and three winners of the Turing Award, the highest honor in computer science. Membership is open to everyone. For more information, please contact: cpsr(a)cpsr.org or visit the CPSR discussion conferences on The Well (well.sf.ca.us) or Mindvox (phantom.com)

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NEW: Cypherwonks (fwd)
by Graham Toal 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

In article <Pine.3.87.9311290937.A20916-0100000(a)crl.crl.com> arthurc(a)crl.com "Arthur Chandler" writes: > I'm assuming, of course, that it's not a spoof. Oh come on, Julf is a European. Even if Lance doesn't have the sense to realise it would be called 'cypherWanks' within 10 seconds of the announcement, Julf certainly would. Obviously Arthur Chandler is An ARM of the MEDUSA :) G -- Personal mail to gtoal(a)gtoal.com (I read it in the evenings) Business mail to gtoal(a)an-teallach.com (Be careful with the spelling!) Faxes to An Teallach Limited: +44 31 662 4678 Voice: +44 31 668 1550 x212

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