December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Looking for advice.
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 09:58 PM 9/27/95 -0700, you wrote: >For two programs communicating via TCP/IP and exchanging authentication >information, I want to make sure that the authentication info, (user's >name and password,) doesn't pass in the clear. I can think of a few >ways to handle this. > >1) Encrypt via shared key using symetric encryption. > This works but key management is a problem. >2) Encrypt via public keys using public key encryption. > There's licensing issues, and how do you generate public and private > pairs for all of the programs? That could be a lot of primes! >3) The "server" could keep user names and passwords stored as hashed values. > That way the "client" could do a hash (MD5?) before sending it. > This has the drawback of the server not having access to the unhashed > values...if it needs that access this method won't work. [Perry Metzger often has good comments about the order of doing things in.] Are you planning to encrypt your sessions, or not? What threats are you worried about? What threats are you aware of but not worried about? How much opportunity do the users of the programs have to set up communications beforehand? Is this one-shot, or will a given client and server do a lot of repeat business? Are you concerned about privacy from machine to machine, or also from user to user? Are you worried about man-in-the-middle attacks? Are you worried about protecting the user's name, or only their password? Are you willing to buy hardware, or do you want software-only? How critical is setup speed? How slow are your processors? Are you worried about your TCP sessions getting hijacked once you've done the authentication? For some applications, Diffie-Hellman is a good answer - the basic protocol doesn't do authentication, but does do secure key negotiation as long as you either don't have a man-in-the-middle or else have authentication such as digital signatures on your key-parts. Once you've created a shared key by DH, you can then use it to encrypt your session, or at least exchange passwords securely. If you're willing to buy a bit of hardware, there are cryptographic smartcards that let you generate time-varying one-time passwords; some of them are decent. Phil Karn's S/Key technology (ftp-able from and I think patented by Bellcore) takes a nice approach using hash functions - let h^n(m) denote message m cranked through hash function h n times, = h(h(h(...(h(m))...))), where h is a secure one-way hash like MD4 that's tolerably fast. To set up, calculate h^n(m), and store it in the server's password file. When you log in for the first time, the server tells you n-1, you calculate h^(n-1)(m), send it as your password, the server hashes it to get h^n(m), and compares it with the saved value. If it works, the server now saves h^(n-1)(m); the next time it'll ask you for n-2, you give it h^(n-2)(m), the server hashes to get h^(n-1)(m), etc. Obviously you've got to reset after n-1 uses. If you have an environment where you can store secret keys safely on the server, you can use secret-key challenge-response methods effectively - the server sends a random number, and you send back the number, encrypted, or there are variants where you modify the number by 1, with or without timestamps, and maybe the server sends the number encrypted also. If you can't secure a general-use machine, but are able to secure a machine that just does authentication and keep it locked in a room with only network access and power, pretty soon you've invented Kerberos. Do you need separate public keys for each application X user? Depending on what you're trying to authenticate, you could have a public key for the application or even just the machine it runs on, and send passwords encrypted with that; again there are variants with timestamps, random challenges, etc., to deal with issues like replay attacks. Or maybe you can have the server issue random numbers as challenges that you sign with your registered public key. If you do that, though, better have the server sign with _its_ public key also, since you'd probably rather not just go signing any random number anybody hands you. And what if there's a man in the middle there helping you log on...? #--- # Bill Stewart, Freelance Information Architect, stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # Phone +1-510-247-0664 Pager/Voicemail 1-408-787-1281 #---

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2nd notice - IEEE Symp on Security and Privacy - Call for papers
by rah＠shipwright.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text From: zurko(a)osf.org (Mary Ellen Zurko) Subject: 2nd notice - IEEE Symp on Security and Privacy - Call for papers To: www-buyinfo(a)allegra.att.com Date: Thu, 28 Sep 95 9:59:45 EDT Cc: zurko(a)osf.org (Mez) Mailer: Elm [revision: 70.85] CALL FOR PAPERS 1996 IEEE Symposium on May 6-8, 1996 Security and Privacy Oakland, California sponsored by IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Security and Privacy in cooperation with The International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) Since 1980, the Symposium on Security and Privacy has been the premier forum for presenting developments in computer security and for bringing together researchers and practitioners in the field. This year, we seek to build upon this tradition of excellence by re-emphasizing work on engineering and applications as well as theoretical advances. We also seek to broaden the scope of the Symposium by introducing additional topics. We want to hear not only about new theoretical results, but also about work in the design and implementation of secure systems and work on policy relating to system security. We are particularly interested in papers on policy and technical issues relating to privacy in the context of the Information Infrastructure, papers on securing unsecure applications and operating systems, papers that relate software and system engineering technology to the design of secure systems, and papers on hardware and architectural support for secure systems. The symposium will focus on technical aspects of security and privacy as they arise in commercial and industrial applications, as well in government and military systems. It will address advances in the theory, design, implementation, analysis, and application of secure computer systems, and in the integration and reconciliation of security and privacy with other critical system properties such as reliability, performance, and safety. Topics in which papers and panel session proposals are invited include, but are not limited to, the following: Secure systems Privacy Issues Access controls Security verification Network security Policy modeling Information flow Authentication Database security Data integrity Security Protocols Viruses and worms Auditing Biometrics Smartcards Commercial and industrial security Intrusion Detection Security and other critical system properties Distributed systems security Novel applications of cryptography and other security techniques We will continue the session of very brief (5-minute) talks introduced last year. Our goal is to make it possible for us to hear from people who are advancing the field in the areas of system design and implementation, and who would like to present their ideas to the symposium audience but may lack the time and resources needed to prepare a full paper. Submissions for this session will be accepted up to April 2, 1996 to permit us to hear of the most recent developments. Abstracts of these talks will be distributed at the conference. INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS: Send six copies of your paper and/or proposal for a panel session to John McHugh, Program Co-Chair, at the address given below. Papers and panel proposals must be received by November 6, 1995. Papers, which should include an abstract, must not exceed 7500 words. The names and affiliations of the authors should appear on a separate cover page only, as a ``blind'' refereeing process is used. In addition to the paper submission, an ASCII copy of the paper title and abstract should be sent to the Program Co-Chair (mchugh(a)cs.pdx.edu) by electronic mail. These will be distributed electronically (without author identification) to the entire program committee to aid in the appropriate assignment of referees. Authors must certify prior to December 25, 1995 that any and all necessary clearances for publication have been obtained. Papers must report original work that has not been published previously, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Abstracts, overlength papers, electronic submissions, late submissions, and papers that cannot be published in the proceedings will be rejected without review. Authors will be notified of acceptance by January 16, 1996. Camera-ready copies are due not later than March 4, 1996. Panel proposals should describe, in two pages or less, the objective of the panel and the topic(s) to be addressed. Names and addresses of potential panelists (with position abstracts if possible) and of the moderator should also be included. Panels are not intended to serve as alternate paper sessions and it is expected that, with the possible exception of an overview of the topic area by the panel chair, individual presentations by panel members will be limited to five to ten minutes and that at least one third of the session will be reserved for discussion. Submitters of abstracts for the special session of five-minute talks should submit one page abstracts to John McHugh, Program Co-Chair, at the address given below. The abstract should be one page or less; Email submissions of 30 to 60 lines are preferred. Abstracts must be received by April 2, 1996. Authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection of abstracts by April 16. Submitted abstracts that are accepted will be distributed at the conference. Presenters of five-minute talks are expected to register for the conference. Overtly commercial presentations are inappropriate. The Symposium will also include informal poster sessions where preliminary or speculative material, and descriptions or demonstrations of software, may be presented. Send one copy of your poster session paper to Dale Johnson, at the address given below, by January 31, 1996, together with certification that any and all necessary clearances for presentation have been obtained. Again this year, we will attempt to counsel prospective authors. If you have questions about whether or how to present your work to the symposium, please send email to the Chair (dmj(a)mitre.org) and we will do our best to assist you. Information about this conference will be also be available by anonymous ftp from ftp.cs.pdx.edu in directory /pub/SP96, on the web at http://www.cs.pdx.edu/SP96. The program chairs can be reached by email at sp96(a)cs.pdx.edu. PROGRAM COMMITTEE Dave Bailey, Galaxy Computer Services, USA Terry Vickers Benzel, TIS, USA Lee A. Benzinger, Loral, USA Debbie Cooper, DMCooper, USA Oliver Costich, Independent Consultant, USA Yves Deswarte, LAAS-CNRS & INRIA, FR Jim Gray, Hong Kong U. of Sci. and Tech, HK Li Gong, SRI, USA Sushil Jajodia, GMU, USA Paul Karger, GTE, USA Carl Landwehr, NRL, USA John McLean, NRL, USA Catherine A. Meadows, NRL, USA Rich Neely, CTA, USA Sylvan S. Pinsky, DoD, USA Mike Reiter, AT&T, USA Sue Rho, TIS, USA Peter Ryan, DRA, UK Tom Schubert, Portland State Univ., USA Stuart Stubblebine, AT&T, USA Elisabeth Sullivan, Sequent, USA Tom Van Vleck, Taligent, USA Vijay Varadharajan, Univ. of Western Sydney, AU Yacov Yacobi, Microsoft, USA Raphael Yahalom, Hebrew University, Israel Mary Ellen Zurko, OSF, USA For further information concerning the symposium, contact: Dale Johnson, General Chair John McHugh, Program Co-Chair The MITRE Corporation Computer Science Department Mailstop A156 Portland State University 202 Burlington Rd P.O. Box 751 Bedford, MA 01730-1420, USA Portland OR 97207-0751, USA Tel: +1 (617) 271-8894 Tel: +1 (503) 725-5842 Fax: +1 (617) 271-3816 Fax: +1 (503) 725-3211 dmj(a)mitre.org mchugh(a)cs.pdx.edu Steve Kent, Vice Chair George Dinolt, Program Co-Chair BBN Systems and Technologies Loral WDL Mailstop 13/2a P.O. Box 49041, MS X20 70 Fawcett Street San Jose, CA 95161-9041 Cambridge, MA 02138 Tel: +1 (408) 473-4150 Tel: +1 (617) 873-6328 Fax: +1 (408) 473-4272 Fax: +1 (617) 873-4086 dinolt(a)wdl.loral.com kent(a)bbn.com Charles Payne, Treasurer Secure Computing Corporation 2675 Long Lake Road Roseville, MN 55113 Tel: +1 (612) 628-1594 Fax: +1 (612) 628-2701 cpayne(a)sctc.com Peter Ryan, European Contact Jim Gray, Asia/Pacific Contact Defence Research Agency Department of Computer Science Room NX17 Hong Kong Univ. of Science & Technology St Andrew's Rd Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong Malvern Tel: +852 358-7012 Worcs WR14 3PS,UK Fax: +852 358-1477 Tel +44 (0684) 895845 gray(a)cs.ust.hk Fax +44 (0684) 894303 ryan(a)rivers.dra.hmg.gb --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah(a)shipwright.com) Shipwright Development Corporation, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA (617) 323-7923 "Reality is not optional." --Thomas Sowell >>>>Phree Phil: Email: zldf(a)clark.net http://www.netresponse.com/zldf <<<<<

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STT_???
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

9-28-95. W$Japer: "Infighting Unravels Alliance Seeking Standard to Protect Internet Purchases." The consortium brought together such top players as credit-card rivals Visa International and MasterCard International Inc., software titan Microsoft Corp. and Internet upstart Netscape Communications Corp. But this week, the alliance split because of tensions between Visa and MasterCard and their respective technology partners -- Microsoft and Netscape. Regarding Netscape, Mr. Dent of Microsoft said the firm's security deficiencies that have recently come to light have "tainted" electronic commerce on the Internet. Mr. Dent also noted that Microsoft yesterday introduced new security technology, including means to verify a user's identity, that is much stronger than Netscape's. STT_??? (6 kb)

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Netscpae & Fortezza (Or, say it Ain't so, Jeff?)
by Adam Shostack 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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Re: Netscape as vehicle for cypherpunk agenda/the cypherpunk bully pulpit
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 10:40 AM 9/25/95 -0700, sameer <sameer(a)c2.org> wrote: > The really big sticking point I see, however, is the >certification authorities. There is a single point of failure here and >that is at Verisign. This becomes a large problem I think if the en >rypted email that Netscape does requires personal x509 certificates (I >read that Versign is issuing those for $9/each.) This is a problem >because for one thing I don't think Versign will want to issue certs >to psudonyms, and Netscape may not talk encrypted email to >non-certified people. (I am not sure) Verisign has a range of certificate types; a "Type I", which only promises that the userid is unique and is otherwise unverified, is free for non-commercial users and something like $6 for commercial; Types II and III require various levels of documentation and $$ to get. The www.verisign.com home page didn't exactly say how to get one; I gather the answer is "wait for October" or "Use the next Netscape version", where I'm don't remember if that's 1.2.2 or 2.0. Netscape is being modified to accept non-Verisign CAs, which means we _can_ build a web of trust to take advantage of it, using X.509 certs or a hybrid of X.509 and PGP. #--- # Bill Stewart, Freelance Information Architect, stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # Phone +1-510-247-0664 Pager/Voicemail 1-408-787-1281 #---

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Re: Timothy C. May: Mini-mailbombs and Warning Letters
by James A. Donald 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 12:28 PM 9/27/95 -0400, Travis Corcoran wrote: >A question: in a situation like this one, where an individual signed a >message with a key then did not make a key with the return address of >his message available either through his .plan, or a keysever (the two >de facto standards), what next step -if any- do people think is more >appropriate than sending mail to the individual asking them for a copy >of the key ? Keep up the good work. --------------------------------------------------------------------- | We have the right to defend ourselves | http://www.jim.com/jamesd/ and our property, because of the kind | of animals that we are. True law | James A. Donald derives from this right, not from the | arbitrary power of the state. | jamesd(a)echeque.com

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Re: 2^25 Crays a Year to Break STT
by Matt Thomlinson 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

don't you love how the media gets the story straight? ---------- From: Bill Stewart <stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com> To: <cypherpunks(a)toad.com> Subject: Re: 25 Crays a Year to Break STT Date: Thursday, September 28, 1995 10:33AM > Microsoft said its Secure Transaction Technology (STT), was > designed to provide a much higher level of security for > credit card transactions on the Internet. Netscape's > general purpose encryption system uses a 40 or 128-bit > electronic "key", while STT will use 2,000-bit keys. Sigh. Apples and oranges, and they know it. ..... > Although no encryption system was totally secure, Mr Dent > estimated it would take "25 Cray supercomputers a year" to > break the STT codes. So how much work can 25 Crays do in a year? Crack single-DES? Maybe RC4/64? #--- # Bill Stewart, Freelance Information Architect, stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # Phone +1-510-247-0664 Pager/Voicemail 1-408-787-1281 #---

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european version of EFF/EPIC/etc?
by Perry E. Metzger 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I was wondering if the Eurpeans had an equivalent of EPIC or EFF lobbying against crypto restrictions there, given the disturbing news a week or so ago. Perry

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Simple Hardware RNG Idea
by cjs＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hello all. Someone mentioned this on IRC last night, and it sounded like a really cool idea, so I thought I'd mention it. The idea is to generate random numbers using a geiger counter tube and a small portion of radioactive substance (like perhaps the stuff they use in smoke detectors?) Would that be random enough? I thought it was a neat idea anyway. Christopher

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awards for hacking microsoft
by sameer 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I've been working on putting together my hack microsoft promotion and I need to think of a good low-budget award. T-shirts would not be economically feasible -- I expect to be awarding many microsoft awards.. Ideas would be appreciated. Thanks. -- sameer Voice: 510-601-9777 Community ConneXion FAX: 510-601-9734 An Internet Privacy Provider Dialin: 510-658-6376 http://www.c2.org (or login as "guest") sameer(a)c2.org

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