December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: USA Today on Fear of Credit Cards over Net
by jgrubs＠left.webcasters.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

"Perry E. Metzger" <perry(a)piermont.com> writes: > > Re: The risk of credit cards. > > I suppose that indeed there are large risks elsewhere in the credit > card system. However, I think that the credit card system itself is > stupid and insecure and ought to be scrapped -- sending around account > numbers as magic keys to get payment is a stupid move. Its not > suprising how large credit card fraud is. Hence the fast growing popularity of those cash cards. -- WebCasters(tm) James C. Grubs jgrubs(a)left.webcasters.com 6817 Maplewood Avenue Tel.: 419-882-2697 Sylvania, Oh 43560 Fax: 419-885-2814 Internet consulting, HTML programming, Information brokering

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Re: Removing Tyranny from Democracy (Part II), (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > From: amp(a)pobox.com > Date: Tue, 09 Sep 1997 09:26:21 -0500 > Subject: Re: Removing Tyranny from Democracy (Part II), > was Democracy is the true enemy... > > > I don't believe there are intrinsic flaws in democracy, so much as > > there are intrinsic flaws in *human*nature* that are coming to light > > after decades. government is a reflection of our human natures. > > one cannot really expect a government to correct the flaws of its > > users, any more than software could do the same. > > No intrinsic flaws in democracy? > > Surely you jest. Please be so kind as to detail your top three flaws... ____________________________________________________________________ | | | The financial policy of the welfare state requires that there | | be no way for the owners of wealth to protect themselves. | | | | -Alan Greenspan- | | | | _____ The Armadillo Group | | ,::////;::-. Austin, Tx. USA | | /:'///// ``::>/|/ http:// www.ssz.com/ | | .', |||| `/( e\ | | -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- Jim Choate | | ravage(a)ssz.com | | 512-451-7087 | |____________________________________________________________________|

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PRNG state (and conditioning) (was Re: netscape's response)
by Carl Ellison 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

If you are looking for PRNG conditioning code, feel free to snarf code from http://www.clark.net/pub/cme/html/ranno.html I'm assuming your new PRNG has enough state (more than 64 bits) that the 128-bit key (or later, larger keys) is worth its bits. I'm assuming you solve the problem of finding enough entropy bits for seeding the PRNG and considering how to keep as much of that entropy as possible in your PRNG seed (rather than, for a silly example, distilling it to an unsigned int for driving rand() ). For example, the state in ranG (from the giveaway code) or in ranM may not by itself lead to a secure PRNG, but when it drives a one-way function (e.g., ranH, ranD, ranN) the state is still serving a purpose. [ranG keeps 186 bytes of state while ranM keeps 32KB of state.] - Carl

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Re: "random" number seeds vs. Netscape
by patrick＠Verity.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Philip L. Karlton said: > > I agree, but I have a hard arguing with those that asser that the security > of UNIX is weak enough that given what we are doing for the patch it will > be easier to become root from a logged in account than to hack the seed. > Why would you have to argue with them? When they say that's it's easier to become root from a logged in account tell them, "Good, that's just as it should be!" It's a feature, not a problem! Patrick _______________________________________________________________________ / These opinions are mine, and not Verity's (except by coincidence;). \ | (\ | | Patrick J. Horgan Verity Inc. \\ Have | | patrick(a)verity.com 1550 Plymouth Street \\ _ Sword | | Phone : (415)960-7600 Mountain View \\/ Will | | FAX : (415)960-7750 California 94303 _/\\ Travel | \___________________________________________________________\)__________/

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A Short History of Liberty
by William H. Geiger III 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Below is a copy of "A Short History of Liberty" by Dean Russell first published in the Freeman in Jan 1955. Copied from "Essays in Liberty" Volume III, published by the FEE (The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc,) 1958. "From Biblical times onward, the history of liberty and progress among various peoples seems to have followed a remarkably similar pattern. there are exceptions, of course-and the time element varies widely-but the pattern may be generally described by ten key ideas in sequence:" 1. BONDAGE. At some point in their histories, all peoples seem to have existed in some form of bondage or slavery-frequently even to their own domestic rulers by their own votes or acquiescence. But when thoughtful persons finally become aware that they are no longer free men, they want to know why. When they ask themselves that question, they automatically turn to contemplation and soul searching. Out of this grows ... 2. FAITH. If people in bondage have no faith-either in a personal Creator or impersonal ideal-they will remain slaves and eventually die out or be absorbed by another culture. But an intelligent faith will almost always develop into ... 3. UNDERSTANDING. A person's faith needs to be buttressed by an understanding of why it is evil to force any peaceful person to conform to the will and ideas of another person. Otherwise, he is apt to remain a faithful slave or attempt to become a slave-owner. But the combination of faith and understanding results in the necessary ... 4. COURAGE. You may depend upon it, courageous men with faith and understanding will neither remain in bondage nor keep others in bondage. Even against great odds, this combination leads to ... 5. LIBERTY. Liberty is a relationship among persons wherein no person molests any other peaceful person in his ideas, possessions, or actions. Liberty may also be viewed as the responsibility one assumes for himself and recognizes in all others, for there can be no liberty where there is no responsibility. Liberty has never existed completely among any people at any time; but where it has existed to a high degree, the resulting freedom to work, trade, choose, win, lose, and bargain has always meant ... 6. ABUNDANCE. But if an abundance of material things is the primary aim of a person, his life is devoid of any real meaning. For if the goal is abundance, its achievement logically results in ... 7. COMPLACENCY. Complacency and self-satisfaction (the "full barns" of the Biblical lesson) inevitably lead to ... 8. APATHY. With apathy comes a dullness and loss of interest-a "let George do it" philosophy. And there will always be many political "Georges" around to accept this invitation to seize both the reins and the whip. This always degenerates into ... 9. DEPENDENCY. For a time, it is possible for dependents to be unaware that they are dependents. As they continue to shed the personal responsibilities which *are* freedom, they also continue to delude themselves that they are still free people-"We never had it so good." Or they may be deluded into believing that they are still free so long they themselves are able to participate in the mechanical processes of selecting their rulers-"We can still vote, can't we?" But dependents are at the mercy of the persons or groups or parties upon whom they depend for their housing, or security in old age, or subsidies, or education, or medical care, or any of the other "aides" from political authority which cause persons to depend on others instead of themselves. Sooner or later, this dependency becomes know by its true nature ... 10. BONDAGE. Fortunately, the record shows that people can regain their faith, understanding, and courage. They can again become persons and citizens who are responsible for their own welfare, rather than units and subjects identified by numbers for the purposes of regimentation and subsidization. The record shows that people can, by their own intelligent actions, regain their liberty any time they want it. - -- - --------------------------------------------------------------- William H. Geiger III http://www.amaranth.com/~whgiii Geiger Consulting Cooking With Warp 4.0 Author of E-Secure - PGP Front End for MR/2 Ice PGP & MR/2 the only way for secure e-mail. OS/2 PGP 2.6.3a at: http://www.amaranth.com/~whgiii/pgpmr2.html - --------------------------------------------------------------- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3a Charset: cp850 Comment: Registered_User_E-Secure_v1.1b1_ES000000 iQCVAwUBNBXK9I9Co1n+aLhhAQF1iQQAgaukTVudUNFRAZUk++bbiN6Q3UK4XMCN enLRoBh5fb5wuBi3UHj2jGZ9d5DAr4KeksyRUTbK4ULpi/UXs0Eo8Dcgjp6I4afH XBlgDO+brpCebSbKU5pHATu2gviSmFCAlWYtsDbQdzja3mHsaZtVfU57sn9ZntFa YLP0lRWw3bg= =CrrO -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: RSA Prevails In Arbitration Against Cylink
by patrick＠Verity.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> Just a note for those who aren't aware, Business Wire is a pay-per-use > "news release" service. That is, RSA wrote the contents of what Bob > (Hi!) posted. > > The clue is at the bottom of the "story": > > CONTACT: RSA > Kurt Stammberger, 415/595-8782 > kurt(a)rsa.com > > This is not to say anything pro or con about the content of the press > release; just that it wasn't written by a third party. > > /jordan > I can't imagine that anyone wouldn't have known that, it was written from RSA's point of view. Patrick _______________________________________________________________________ / These opinions are mine, and not Verity's (except by coincidence;). \ | (\ | | Patrick J. Horgan Verity Inc. \\ Have | | patrick(a)verity.com 1550 Plymouth Street \\ _ Sword | | Phone : (415)960-7600 Mountain View \\/ Will | | FAX : (415)960-7750 California 94303 _/\\ Travel | \___________________________________________________________\)__________/

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None
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

John Young said: > Flame War, by Jonathan Quittner and Michelle Slatalla, > William Morrow, New York, 1997. 291 pp. $24.00 > ISBN 0-688-14366-0 Sure that isn't Alexis Slatella? ;) FedPlunger

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With friends like these...
by Damaged Justice 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

...who needs enemas? (Administered by plunger, no doubt.) Internet Tax Plan Is Needed, Net Creator Says (09/09/97; 12:00 p.m. EDT) By [33]Douglas Hayward, [34]TechWire GENEVA -- Internet taxes are inevitable, according to the man dubbed the "Father of the Net." The only way to avoid global chaos is to create an international agreement on how to do it, added Vint Cerf at a meeting of the Internet Society here. Cerf co-developed the [35]TCP/IP[LINK] protocol on which all Web and Net transaction depend. Although proposals for taxing the Internet were rejected by both the Clinton administration and the European Commission earlier this year, there will be no way to avoid it, he said. "We need to be prepared for the day when there will be taxation as a consequence of Internet transactions," said Cerf, who is senior vice president for Internet architecture and engineering at MCI, in Washington. Taxation of the Internet, also called "bit taxes," must be well-planned, Cerf said. "And it must also be thought through on a global scale -- not parochially," he said. In the United States alone, there are 30,000 taxing authorities that might be interested in taxing transactions on the Internet, said Cerf, adding that right now, there is no way to determine which of those authorities should have jurisdiction over a particular transaction. "Imagine going through 30,000 tests for each transaction -- no transaction would ever go through," Cerf said. "If the Internet becomes a major tool for electronic commerce, every major taxing jurisdiction in the world will be interested in using that as a revenue stream." Although the rate of growth of visible Internet hosts appears to be slowing significantly, the growth of intranets is still on the rise, Cerf said. "Traffic is growing at such as rate that on [MCI's] backbone, we will have to consume as much fiber capacity for the Internet as for the telephone network by the third quarter of 2110," he said. As Internet traffic grows, Cerf said, legislators will move to regulate it. "You cannot have a fully and totally unregulated environment," he said. "If something is becoming an infrastructure that is important for people's daily lives, then governments will have the right to be concerned about the public's safety and well-being," Cerf said. "When you build roads, you make rules about how people are to behave on these roads, in order to protect people." [36]TW [37]Search Archives ____________________ [All CMP Publications] ______ Related Stories: [38]Europe Rejects "Bit Tax" [39]Congress To Take Byte Out Of Taxes [40]Clinton: Hands Off The Internet References 35. http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.cgi?sstring=TCP/IP 36. http://www.techweb.com/ 37. http://www.techweb.com/search/search.html 38. http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?WIR1997040812 39. http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?WIR1997071107 40. http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?INV1997070102

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Re: Netscape is doing well -- give 'em a break.
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 5:52 AM 9/21/95, John Gilmore wrote: >All progress is by steps. Let's step on each others' shoulders, not >on each others' toes. Netscape is doing us a favor by pushing strong >crypto. We are doing them a favor by pointing out problems before >they cause major losses to Netscape customers. The result is higher >security for everyone, and more respect for each other's efforts. So >kindly show them a little... I agree strongly with John. This whole Netscape thing is good for us, good for Netscape (in the long run), and good for raising the awareness of the importance of strong crypto. It also underscores the need for "tiger teams" to validate software, much as the Pentium debacle of last fall underscored the need for even more detailed checking of designs. It's clear now that 1000 ravenous Cypherpunks, or some fraction of them, are eager to "crack" the next big product, and this will hopefully make for better and stronger software. --Tim May Notice: With 1000 people on the Cypherpunks list, and many on other lists I am on, nearly every article I write generates at least one question, request for more information, dispute with my choice of words, etc. I have been trying to respond to these, usually privately, but the burden has become too much, and I no longer plan to respond to trivial or ephemeral points. If you don't hear from me, this is why. Some requests for pointers to information will still be handled, but I advise people to learn how to use the archives and/or search tools. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay(a)got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^756839 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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Re: FROM A FRIEND . . . (the joys of boating)
by landon＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>On 21 Sep 1995, Jeff Weinstein wrote: >> My understanding is that we can not >> export our US-only product, except to canada - for the use of canadian >> citizens. I also believe that it is illegal for anyone except US citizens, >> permanent residents of the US (green card holders) and Canadian citizens >> to use it, even within the US. I'm not a lawyer, and I've not read >> all of ITAR myself, so I could be totally wrong... > > All the same, if anyone wants an easy and economical >way to get around ITAR, have someone do your cypto software development >just north of the border (Vancouver's just north of Seattle and close >enough to Silicon Valley, with excellent net-access) or at least just >publish it here first. here's a possible bullshit wrinkle. i'm not a lawyer, but one of my bosses was, once. said boss owned a boat that was of canadian registry. he was a canadian citizen with a green card. he *claimed* that, even when docked in the SF bay area, his boat was technically considered canadian territory, due to some maritime law malarky. US authorities theoretically had to go through various hoops to legally board his vessel. i wouldn't try to halt a SWAT team, or even the local fuzz, with this tidbit of legal gaga. but doing crypto development on such a vessel might hold up in court for something as squishy as ITAR. naturally, commuting to canada is probably a *lot* cheaper than owning a boat. the uninitiated have little idea what these holes- in-the-water really cost.... :-) -landon (returning to lurk-mode)

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