December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Note to Net-lobbyists: give it up already, abandon Congress
by Antonomasia 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Declan, > Message to Net-lobbyists: look at what happened when this time. Please > concentrate on blocking all crypto legislation, not trying to fix it. > (Yes, I realize you won't have anything do with crypto, won't "be a > player." Shucks.) The status quo, combined with the court challenges, is > not that bad. Would you like to post confirmation that this is not sarcasm ? -- ############################################################## # Antonomasia ant(a)notatla.demon.co.uk # # See http://www.notatla.demon.co.uk/ # ##############################################################

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Hint: He's your worst nightmare...
by Bianca 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Lag Test #2: Who has returned to the CypherPunks mailing list after a long fucking absence? Answer: [Your wrong guess here.] Lag Test #3: What was the most obvious sign of his absence? Answer: [Wrong answer here.] Lag Test #4: Why is he really, really pissed? Answer: [Don't worry. He'll let you know.]

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Re: The problem of playing politics with our constitutional rights
by John Smith 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>I'm just pointing out that we saw this situation several years ago with >Clipper. The list was, predictably, sidetracked with literally thousands of >suggestions about how best to recruit more public supporters. T-shirts, >gimmicks, and suggestions for songs about crypto, for getting t.v. >producers to put crypto, pro-privacy themes in their t.v. shows, and so on. >All pretty hopeless, wouldn't you say? Why do you say that? Clipper was defeated. People all over the net united and opposed it. Now there is this new threat, but at least defeating Clipper bought some time. There is no reason the same thing can't happen again. Sometimes I think cypherpunks *want* crypto to be outlawed. "John ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

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Fuck ITAR in the EAR
by I Told You So 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hello CoE cell mates, I notice Bubba, or was that TruthMonger, one of them anyway, has been ranting about stirring some shit for the GAKkers by exporting something from the US by way of Canada. I have it from a good source that it is perfectly legal to do this as there is a loop-whole in Candian law. But you have to do it in a particular way. Lets say you wish to export PGP from Canada. Your American accomplice emails you PGP. You write to the appropriate canadian department of export controls telling them: "I'm going to export PGP. I just imported it from the US. I am required by Canadian law to inform you in writing before I do this. Consider yourself informed". Post the letter. Then export PGP. (The amercian accomplice is optional, you can just import it yourself if you can find a US site which will give it to you with a domain of dev.null or sympatico.ca, should be doable, William Geigher's site has it for open download for instance.) Ok the wording above in quotes is important, if you _ask_ them for permission, they'll faff around and not give it to you. But the point is you _don't need their permission_ according to Canadian law, you're just supposed to inform them _before_ the export. So apparently there have been some very interesting crypto things exported this way. All that happens to the canadian person is that they receive a letter from the Canadian export control bods with much teeth gnashing and entreatments not to export, please. Guess this letter would be worthy of framing and hanging on the wall along beside Bubba Rom Dos portrait. Voila. Course that may not have the desired effect. If you want to cause more shit, do things in the wrong order. That is export it, then write them saying "I am required to inform you prior to export. I think this is stupid. I exported PGP last week. So arrest me." btw all these clear text Bcc's... not that I mind or anything, but I prefer PGP encrypted emails, that way the bubba rants etc provides nice cover traffic for my real nefarious purposes. You can `remail' the story if you like (I'm pretty sure it's good legal advice), if you remail, do it without my name on it. Kent Crispin

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key escrow B.S. "cure" for single point of failure
by lcs Mixmaster Remailer 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The feds say that key escrow is not a single point of failure, because private keys will be split between arms of the bureaucracy, and an attacker would have to con three or more independent agencies or agents to gain access to a key. Now, running buffer overflows on three machines with dialup accounts paid for with stolen credit cards and hooked through the payphone in Cloyne hall seems just as easy as running buffer overflows on one. Single point may be worse than three points, but one and three seem almost the same when compared to 250,000,000. -THE LIE

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Re: Cypherpunks write GAK
by Nobuki Nakatuji 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> >Security And Freedom Through Encryption: >======================================= > >This patch adds a Law Enforcement Access Field to PGP 2.6.3i, which >can be used to provide, upon presentment of a court order, immediate >access to plaintext data. > >This tool will frustrate illegal and deadly activity of terrorist >groups that plot to blow up buildings, drug cartels that seek to >poison our children, and those who proliferate in deadly chemical and >biological weapons, and will bring international criminals to justice. > >GAKMonger >~~~~~~~~~ > >diff -u ../pgp263i/src/armor.c ./armor.c >--- ../pgp263i/src/armor.c Wed Jan 17 21:37:20 1996 >+++ ./armor.c Sat Sep 13 03:30:57 1997 >@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ > static int armordecode(FILE * in, FILE * out, int *warned); > static void mk_crctbl(crcword poly); > static boolean is_armorfile(char *infile); >+extern char leaf[]; > > /* Begin ASCII armor routines. > This converts a binary file into printable ASCII characters, in a >@@ -597,6 +598,13 @@ > 1, noSections); > } > fprintf(outFile, "Version: %s\n", LANG(rel_version)); >+ if (leaf[0]) >+ { >+ fprintf(outFile, "LEAF: "); >+ for (i = 1; i <= IDEAKEYSIZE; i += 3) >+ outdec(leaf+i, outFile, 3); >+ putc('\n', outFile); >+ } > if (clearfilename) > fprintf(outFile, "Charset: %s\n", charset); > if (globalCommentString[0]) >diff -u ../pgp263i/src/crypto.c ./crypto.c >--- ../pgp263i/src/crypto.c Mon Jan 15 22:37:59 1996 >+++ ./crypto.c Sat Sep 13 03:33:19 1997 >@@ -420,6 +420,9 @@ > * The "skip" parameter says to skip that many bytes at the beginning, > * used to generate a random IV only for conventional encryption. > */ >+ >+char leaf[IDEAKEYSIZE+1]; >+ > static int make_random_ideakey(byte key[IDEAKEYSIZE+RAND_PREFIX_LENGTH], > int skip) > { >@@ -445,7 +448,11 @@ > */ > count = IDEAKEYSIZE+RAND_PREFIX_LENGTH; > for (count = skip; count < IDEAKEYSIZE+RAND_PREFIX_LENGTH; count++) >- key[count] = cryptRandByte() ^ trueRandByte(); >+ { >+ key[count] = cryptRandByte() ^ trueRandByte(); >+ leaf[count-skip+1] = key[count]; >+ } >+ leaf[0] = 1; > > /* > * Write out a new randseed.bin. It is encrypted in precisely the >diff -u ../pgp263i/src/pgp.c ./pgp.c >--- ../pgp263i/src/pgp.c Thu Jan 18 19:06:45 1996 >+++ ./pgp.c Sat Sep 13 02:36:44 1997 >@@ -410,6 +410,16 @@ > #endif > stderr); > >+fputs("American citizens have a right to their privacy and their access to the >+freest possible markets. But they also have a right to their safety and >+security. Terrorist groups that plot to blow up buildings; drug cartels >+that seek to poison our children, and those who proliferate in deadly >+chemical and biological weapons are all formidable opponents of peace and >+security in the global society. These bad actors must know that the United >+States' law enforcement and national security agencies, working under the >+proper oversight, will have the tools to frustrate illegal and deadly >+activity and bring international criminals to justice.\n", stderr); >+ > get_timestamp((byte *) & tstamp); /* timestamp points to tstamp */ > fprintf(pgpout, LANG("Current time: %s\n"), ctdate(&tstamp)); > } > > What is this???????????? ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

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Not key escrow, key recovery
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>It is quite probable that this has been said before. In case it hasn't, >however, I feel compelled to point out that mandatory key escrow/recovery >could likely mean an economic disaster of unimaginable proportions. (Underpaid clerk steals secret keys, etc.) Wake up. It's not key escrow, it's key recovery. Every message will be encrypted with a LEAF (law enforcement access field). This is an additional recipient who can decrypt the message. No user or corporate secret keys are escrowed. You're working with yesterday's scenario. Anon

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Assault Weapons, Strong Cryptography, And Large Breasts
by Jonathan Wienke 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The excuse used by the government to justify regulation of firearms and cryptography is one of crime prevention: * "We can't let people have machine guns--they might go wacko and shoot a whole bunch of people." * "We can't let people have rifles or pistols with magazines that hold more than 10 rounds--they might go wacko and shoot a whole bunch of people." * "We can't let people have sawed-off shotguns--they are too easy to conceal. Someone might be able to hide one under their coat and then rob a convenience store. * "We can't let people have Nigger Town Saturday Night Specials--they are too easy to conceal. Someone might be able to hide one under their coat and then mug somebody." (This is the original, unabridged version of the term--the sanitized version is just more acceptable to the public. Some of the first gun control laws in the US were passed to prevent black people from defending themselves against the KKK, shortly after the Civil War.) * "If we let people communicate using encryption, then terrorists and pedophiles will be able to run amok." This logic sounds good on the surface, but unfortunately it has a serious flaw. Like the difficulty with the old Mafia "protection" rackets, the problem becomes "Who will protect us from the protector?" Government has a legitimate role in capturing and punishing those who harm others. However, when government attempts to prevent people from harming themselves or others, the "cure" becomes worse than the "disease". One can apply this warped logic just as aptly to body parts as firearms or cryptographic software. Women can use their bodies to solicit sexual services (prostitution), and spread sexually transmitted diseases. Should we require them to license their breasts? (Anyone C-cup or larger must pay a $75 annual license fee per breast, D-cup or larger, $100. Flat-chested women will have to pay $150 for their concealable "Saturday Night Specials", and of course carrying a concealed breast is a felony.) Men can commit crimes with their penises--rape, incest, sodomy, etc. Shall we license penises, too? ($25 annually per erect inch, and any "assault penis" capable of ejaculating more than once per erection will be immediately confiscated.) "Honey, Junior and I are going to go to the range, so I can teach him how to shoot safely." "You know I don't like guns, especially that one you have that looks like an Uzi. I just don't think it's right for Junior to be around such things. Besides, shooting is dangerous." "Guns aren't dangerous, as long as you follow the appropriate safety rules when handling them. That is what I am going to teach Junior today." "But I don't want Junior to be around guns. You have all the equipment you need to be a bank robber or terrorist, and that bothers me." "Well, you have all the equipment you need to be a whore. Should that bother me?" Prohibition was an attempt to prevent people from hurting themselves or others due to excessive alcohol consumption. Agents of the government arrested those involved in the production and sale of alcoholic beverages. Since government cannot change people's desires, the demand for the consumption of alcohol remained. Organized crime moved in to supply the demand, and instead of saving lives, Prohibition cost lives--and freedoms. The drinkers continued to drink, and due to the gun battles that ensued when the government tried to stop them, the government decided to outlaw (for all but a privileged few) private ownership of machine guns. This trend continues today. Purveyors of crack cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines have replaced bartenders as the boogeymen. "Assault weapons" are constantly reviled in the media as the tools of drug dealers and terrorist criminals. The government continues to strip away our rights because "it needs to in order to be able to fight the War On Drugs". Drugs are the excuse for some of the most onerous asset-forfeiture laws in the civilized world--right here in the USA. If police suspect (they don't need any proof) that you are involved in drug trafficking, your house, car, bank accounts, and other valuables can be confiscated. They do not need to be returned, even if you are never even charged with any crime. (My source for this: ABC's "20/20" news show, which is hardly a bastion of right-wing fanatacism.) As I write this, the House of Representatives is working on a bill that effectively criminalizes electronic communication that does not provide a transcript of the communication to the government. The justification for this Orwellian intrusion is terrorism, drug trafficking, child pornography, money laundering, and various and sundry classified and therefore unspecified "threats to national security". Of course, the justification is utter hogwash. Instead of teenage hackers intercepting financial communications and emptying our bank accounts, it can be done by professionals whose salaries are paid by our taxes. Instead of a few crackheads trying to break into your house looking for cash or valuables to fund their next fix (a situation created by our ridiculous War On Drugs), you can be assaulted by your friendly neighborhood SWAT team searching for your unescrowed encryption keys, equipped with eveything up to and including tanks and armored personnel carriers, which you have the privilege of paying for out of your pocket. The source code for crypto isn't going to evaporate just because 536 politicians pass a law. People still own machine guns, which in addition to being illegal, are expensive to purchase, difficult to manufacture, and difficult to hide from determined searchers. On the other hand, the source code for PGP and other cryptographic software is readily available, and very easy to copy and redistribute, so even if house-to-house searches are conducted, there will be tens of thousands of sources for it. I suspect that Crypto Prohibition will enjoy even less popular support than the original did. Jonathan Wienke What part of "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" is too hard to understand? (From 2nd Amendment, U.S. Constitution) PGP 2.6.2 RSA Key Fingerprint: 7484 2FB7 7588 ACD1 3A8F 778A 7407 2928 DSS/D-H Key Fingerprint: 3312 6597 8258 9A9E D9FA 4878 C245 D245 EAA7 0DCC Public keys available at pgpkeys.mit.edu. PGP encrypted e-mail preferred. Get your assault crypto before they ban it! US/Canadian Windows 95/NT or Mac users: Get Eudora Light + PGP 5.0 for free at http://www.eudora.com/eudoralight/ Get PGP 5.0 for free at http://bs.mit.edu:8001/pgp-form.html Non-US PGP 5.0 sources: http://www.ifi.uio.no/pgp/ http://www.heise.de/ct/pgpCA/download.shtml ftp://ftp.pca.dfn.de/pub/pgp/V5.0/ ftp://ftp.fu-berlin.de/pub/pc/win95/pgp ftp://ftp.fu-berlin.de/pub/mac/pgp http://www.shopmiami.com/utopia.hacktic.nl/pub/replay/pub/pgp/pgp50/win/ RSA export-o-matic: print pack"C*",split/\D+/,`echo "16iII*o\U@{$/=$z;[(pop,pop,unpack"H*",<> )]}\EsMsKsN0[lN*1lK[d2%Sa2/d0<X+d*lMLa^*lN%0]dsXx++lMlN/dsM0<J]dsJxp"|dc`

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killing off the looming J. Edgar Hoover gorilla
by Attila T. Hun 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- the bottom line is simple: either 1. swamp the techno-ignorant fools with hollow traffic 2. wait and hope the courts have the balls to enforce the first and fourth amendments. civil disobedience, despite the Feds learning from the Chicago 7 trial that selective individual prosecution is more effective to strike terror in the hearts and souls of the 'deviants', needs to be organized at _all_ colleges and law firms, who unfortunately are at least as techno-illiterate as the members of Congress. Will Rogers summed it up: "circus? you want to go to the circus? Why? Congress is in session." however, living in the Intermountain Empire, I vote to secede from the totalitarian fools that claim they are governing a republic with our consent; or, in the immortal words of Thomas Jefferson "God forbid we should ever be twenty years without a rebellion." attila -- "Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other." --Benjamin Franklin ______________________________________________________________________ "attila" 1024/C20B6905/23 D0 FA 7F 6A 8F 60 66 BC AF AE 56 98 C0 D7 B0 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: latin1 Comment: No safety this side of the grave. Never was; never will be iQCVAwUBNBn7kL04kQrCC2kFAQE9PAQAx53t3ABfM4V72lraN+ax/IUAzM+n5FEw pw8p+p47veeP4IkKznYulAy4pTbJyBDTDTpLY6r15oGdM61Xj7cQuGdQ5sKVmY+q QIhQM8bXX1MTB/at+eQ9BZaoid1OjPsg10PJn9hq31vXNAyib8P0Bbe///4WWZcA kldwJQ7l4zM= =hxIf -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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No Subject
by bureau42 Anonymous Remailer 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The snow-monster saw a peppercorn through the vacuum-packed keyhole, it's extra mouth kissing the fresh fruit and chewing the rough. The blizzard continued to whip the darkness, while the snow-men sunned in the warm glow of particle fear and unicity gaps. It remained as cold it as and hot. - A'Tak A'Tdorn

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