December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Silly technical question from a non-technical person
by aba＠dcs.exeter.ac.uk 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> If it costs $10,000 to crack one 40-bit key (putting aside whether we > agree on that price or not), could not the software be designed in such a > manner that it is able to check, say, 10,000 keys at the same time? Ie, > it computes a key, and then checks it against the array of data to see if > it fits any of them, and then goes on to the next one. Hmm yes and no. - For pure RC4-40 yes. - For export SSL no. It has what is effectively an 88 bit salt (familiar with unix password salts? like that only 88 bits). - For full 128 bit SSL, yes, but 128 bits is a rather large even if you have a few million keys to try at once with speed up gains. 2^128 is a biiig number. - For DES I think so, asked for others opinions, this might be the next one to die, big project but possibly doable with lots of keys at once Adam

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Dumb question (Re: RSA T-Shirt)
by George T. Talbot 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Sorry to bother the entire list with this...anybody got the e-mail address of the USA seller of the 3-lines of Perl RSA T-Shirt? I haven't received mine yet and I can't find the e-mail address. Again...Sorry for adding to the traffic. ---------- George T. Talbot <george(a)phat.com>

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Re: First known purchase of physical goods with cyberbucks
by Matt Thomlinson 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

don't forget GhostMarks! :) matt ---------- From: Timothy C. May <tcmay(a)got.net> To: "Marcel van der Peijl" <bigmac(a)digicash.com>; <mark(a)unicorn.com> Cc: <cypherpunks(a)toad.com>; <ecm(a)ai.mit.edu>; <steve(a)webmedia.com> Subject: Re: First known purchase of physical goods with cyberbucks Date: Thursday, August 17, 1995 11:59AM At 6:39 PM 8/17/95, Marcel van der Peijl wrote: >> Anyway, if anyone knows of an earlier transaction of cyberbucks for physical >> goods than this (at 15:00 GMT 17th August 1995), then please let me know. > >As far as I know, the first transaction took place when I (while >testing) bought a postcard from GlobalX, the first ecash store to >open besides our own (and mine). It is stored in the 'DigiCash >museum' next to early prototypes of all kinds of smartcards, >emulators, wallets etc. > >This must have been around October last year (or August? Can't make >out the postmark). Hundreds of cards were shipped by several shops, >and stickers, lotteries, etc. Check the 'physical objects' section >on http://www.digicash.com/shops/categorical.html > >Maybe you should restrict the 'first known' claim to 'first known >purchase of physical goods with cyberbucks traded at the ECM'. > >Sorry! Also, there are other potential claims for this sort of thing. Based on varying extents to which the "electronic money" is really secure, is cryptographically interesting, etc. For example, more than two years ago on this list (I think it was spring of '93, but it could've been spring of '94) there were a flurry of transactions involving the "MagicMoney" and "TackyTokens" of Pr0ductCypher and others. I recall Black Unicorn and others talking about transactional exchanges involving sixpacks of beer or soft drinks. I could check my archives, but you get the point. And before that, there were "HExmarks" being used on the Extropians list. There was a nominal conversion rate to real dollars, and at the time I left that list, I had more HExmarks than anyone else. And dozens of token-based systems, coupons, LETS systems, etc. Not to mention the various commercial smartcards and "e money" systems. Granted, most of these are not "Chaumian," which is what most of us think of us as digital cash. Claiming credit for being first is a tough issue. --Tim May ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay(a)got.net (Got net?) | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-728-0152 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Corralitos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^756839 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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More on Netscape
by Sean A. Walberg 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I guess most everybody has seen the response that Netscape put on their page, but did people check out the "for more info" link (http://home.netscape.com/newsref/std/key_security.html) It says that the commerce server supports (among others) DES and DES3 (same as 3DES?). They list the key sizes as 64 and 192 bits respectively. My question is, isn't DES 56 bits? (with an 8 bit salt that would be 64 I guess), but isn't DES3 112 bits, not 192? Just wondering... Sean o-------------------o----------------------o-----------------------o | Sean Walberg, | Tech Support | Pas_al, _obol, BASI_, | | sean(a)escape.ca | escape communication | PostS_ript, T_L... | | Mail for PGP key | 925-4290 | C fills all the holes | o----------------] http://www.escape.ca/~sean [--------------------o

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new o'reilly security book
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

------- Forwarded Message Date: Tue, 15 Aug 1995 14:08:44 -0700 From: Sara Winge <sara(a)ora.com> Subject: New "Computer Crime" book from O'Reilly FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 15, 1995 TO REQUEST A REVIEW COPY, CONTACT: Sara Winge sara(a)ora.com 707/829-0515 O'REILLY RELEASES HANDBOOK ON FIGHTING COMPUTER CRIME SEBASTOPOL, CA--"Computer Crime: A Crimefighter's Handbook" is a resource for anyone who needs to know what today's computer crimes look like, how to prevent them, and how to detect, investigate, and prosecute them if they do occur. It contains basic computer security information as well as extensive guidelines for investigators, law enforcement, managers, and computer system administrators. The book has been reviewed by representatives of the U.S. Secret Service, the Department of Justice, local police departments, district attorney's offices, and law enforcement abroad. "Computer Crime" describes the varieties of computer crimes and profiles the computer criminal, using techniques developed for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. It outlines the vulnerabilities of computer systems and discusses personnel, operational, physical, and communications measures that can be taken to prevent computer crimes. In addition, it contains a thorough treatment of effective methods for investigating and prosecuting computer crimes, ranging from the supplies needed for criminal investigation, to the detection and audit tools used in investigation, to the presentation of evidence to a jury. # # # Computer Crime: A Crimefighter's Handbook By David Icove, Karl Seger & William VonStorch, with Consulting Editor Eugene H. Spafford 1st Edition August 1995 464 pages, ISBN: 1-56592-086-4, $24.95

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nontoxic neuron interface built
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

for all of you eagerly awaiting the day you can literally "jack in" to cyberspace.. ------- Forwarded Message Date: Wed, 16 Aug 95 13:44:34 -0400 Subject: FW: 'Cyberpunk' neural interface? - - ---------- From: James McDaniel X-MsXMTID: red-14-msg950816203742MTP[01.00.00]0000009e-34570 The following item is taken from: http://www.hep.net/documents/newsletters/pnu/1995/pnu-236.html James - - -------------------- PHYSICS NEWS UPDATE The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Physics News Number 236: August 7, 1995 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein A SILICON DEVICE FOR TRIGGERING ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY IN A NERVE CELL has been constructed, opening possibilities for two-way, non-toxic communication between computer chips and nerve cells. Previous devices for stimulating nerve cells were metallic devices generating ordinary electric currents. Not only do such devices have corrosion-prone electrodes, but their currents create electrochemical byproducts and heat that could damage the nerve cells and themselves. The silicon device, constructed by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Germany, contains a "stimulation spot" that triggers neural activity simply through the rearrangement of electric charge. Insulated by silicon oxide, the stimulation spot has a size (between 10 and 50 microns) matched to that of a leech nerve cell to which it is connected. A voltage pulse applied to the spot rearranges electric charge on the silicon oxide film and the insulating membrane of the nerve cell, creating a buildup of positive charge in the nerve cell which causes it to fire above a certain threshold. The silicon device is capable of triggering a single nerve cell without affecting other nearby neurons. The device complements the previously designed "neuron transistor," which receives ionic signals from nerve cells and transcribes them to electronic signals in silicon. "These two devices join the two worlds of information processing, the silicon world of the computer and the water-world of the brain," says the Max Planck Institute's Peter Fromherz (fromherz(a)vms.biochem.mpg.de) Developing this device for biomedical applications, such as computer-controlled artificial limbs, is not envisioned at the present moment, as researchers will first need to build and understand devices that interact with connective tissue and other non-neuronal cells in the body. (Peter Fromherz and Alfred Stett, upcoming article in Physical Review Letters; text and figures are available from AIP Public Information, 301-209-3091, physnews(a)aip.org.) - ------- End of Forwarded Message ------- End of Forwarded Message

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WANTED: anonymous remailer source code
by quazi＠banyan.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hi All. I'm interested in porting some remailer code to work on NT (most likely using NTMail as the smtp service). I'd like to be sure I'm starting my port from the most recent revisions, and the sources at the archive at berkeley seem a bit dated. Are they the latest sources? Are there more recent sources available somewhere? Thanks, Quazi

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Re: Silly technical question from a non-technical person
by droelke＠spirit.aud.alcatel.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> > - For DES I think so, asked for others opinions, this might be the > next one to die, big project but possibly doable with lots of keys > at once > But, what is a good DES target to attack?? SSL was a great target because it is both visible and because it has a well defined open specification that made it easy to determine exactly what to attack (unlike Microsoft Access). I know someone who *used* to be in the ATM transaction business, but is no longer. Is the code from a credit card reader DES encrypted? We could be possible "tap" the serial port between the reader and the modem and get a byte stream in that manner.... but then again, my knowledge of those beasts is pretty limited. Dan ------------------------------------------------------------------ Dan Oelke Alcatel Network Systems droelke(a)aud.alcatel.com Richardson, TX http://spirit.aud.alcatel.com:8081/~droelke/

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Re: More on Netscape
by koontz＠MasPar.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>It says that the commerce server supports (among others) DES and DES3 >(same as 3DES?). They list the key sizes as 64 and 192 bits >respectively. My question is, isn't DES 56 bits? (with an 8 bit salt >that would be 64 I guess), but isn't DES3 112 bits, not 192? DES keys are specified as 64 bits, of which 8 bits provide odd parity. The 192 bits would specify three independent keys (not triple DES)

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Non-News Govt Announcement on Key Escrow
by banisar＠epic.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The White House and NIST annouced today that they were planning to hold two open meetings next month to develop standards for "acceptable" software key escrow. The standards will then be made into a FIPS. The programs cannot have keys larger than 64 bits. Its great to see that it only took them 18 months (since Feb. 94) to come up with a call for public meetings for something that nobody really wants anyway, expcept for the officals who plan to make it mandatory by slipping it through bit by bit and a couple of vendors. (sorry, sarcasm mode off...) -d (in non-official sarcastic mode today from home) David Banisar (Banisar(a)epic.org) * 202-544-9240 (tel) Electronic Privacy Information Center * 202-547-5482 (fax) 666 Pennsylvania Ave, SE, Suite 301 * ftp/gopher/wais cpsr.org Washington, DC 20003 * HTTP://epic.digicash.com/epic

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