December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Universal Avatar spec
by Bovine Remailer 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

IBM, Velocity, and Chaco team up for identity on the net: http://www.chaco.com/avatar/avatar.html > The real power of Universal Avatars comes from the inclusion of > other capabilities into the system. First, consider the implications > of embedding a public key, or Netscape certificate, into the > Universal Avatar file. By introducing secure communications, the > avatar can effect instantaneous financial micro-transactions > seamlessly in a virtual world. For example, an avatar could walk > through a virtual mall and transparently purchase items. Since his/her > profile is under the strict control of the user, s/he could declare > an interest in modems. Virtual stores could then automate the process > of discovering where the potential customer's interests lie, while > keeping the customer's personal information strictly confidential and > email address safe from spamming.

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Bernstein hrg in the news
by Bovine Remailer 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Feds on the Ropes In Suit Challenging Arms Export Law (Dan Goodin, The Recorder (SF), 9/23/96, p.1) A professor who says federal restrictions on the export of encryption software violate his right to free speech seemed to get a sympathetic hearing from a federal judge on Friday. In a closely watched case challenging export restrictions on encryption software, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel did not rule on summary judgment motions. But she appeared impatient when a U.S. Department of Justice attorney attempted to revive an issue settled months ago in that case. Patel handed plaintiff Daniel Bernstein a big victory in April, ruling that software is protected speech under the First Amendment. But the ruling in _Bernstein v. U.S. Department of State_, 95-0582, didn't deter government attorneys Friday from trying to reargue the point. Justice Department trial attorney Anthony Coppolino argued that the government controls on the export of software are not based on the content of the computer code but rather on its functionality. Therefore, he argued, the restrictions are not a prior restraint of speech protected under the Constitution. Patel replied: "You'll get a chance to argue that in another courtroom." Cindy Cohn, an associate with San Mateo's McGlashan & Sarrail representing Bernstein, said she was pleased with the way the hearing appeared to go. "My impression is the fact that [Patel] was asking more questions of [Coppolino] than me meant that he was the one who needed to convince her," Cohn said. Coppolino declined to comment. LICENSE TO 'SNUFFLE' Filed in February 1995, the suit challenges provisions of the International Traffic in Arms Regulation Act, which classifies encryption programs as "munitions" and subjects them to strict export controls. In October 1993, the U.S. State Department told Bernstein he would need an arms export license to post his "Snuffle" encryption program and accompanying documentation to an Internet discussion group. He subsequently filed suit seeking to have the requirement declared unconstitutional. After Patel's April ruling, the case now turns on whether restrictions on the export of such software and accompanying "technical data" amount to prior restraint, which can only be exercised extremely narrowly. High-tech companies are closely watching the case, having complained bitterly for years that the law has crippled their ability to compete in the global software market. Particularly in the burgeoning arena of Internet and network-related software products, encryption features are considered essential to protect sensitive data transmissions from unauthorized access. Legislative attempts at relaxing export laws so far have been unsuccessful. A bill now before the Senate Commerce Committee has received stiff opposition from the Clinton administration, and even its supporters say it is unlikely the bill will pass this term. But Stanton McCandlish, a spokesman for the Electronic Frontier Foundation - a group that advocates extending civil liberties into digital media such as the Internet - said the so-called Pro-CODE bill sponsored by Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont, could be made moot by Bernstein's case. "If we get the ruling we're looking for," he said, "and it's affirmed at the Supreme Court level, which is pretty likely, the Pro-CODE bill is probably not needed at all." (retyping by NLA, newspaper liberation army.)

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Re: Where to write crypto?
by azur＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I believe Taiwan might be an excellent location to have 'clear room' crypto work done. Taiwan has a very large skilled software labor pool and isn't a member of COCOM. PGP Fingerprint: FE 90 1A 95 9D EA 8D 61 81 2E CC A9 A4 4A FB A9 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Snoop Daty Data | Internet: azur(a)netcom.com Grinder | Voice: 1-702-655-2877 Sacred Cow Meat Co. | Fax: 1-702-658-2673 7075 W. Gowan Road, #2148 | Las Vegas, NV 89129 | --------------------------------------------------------------------- Just say NO to prescription DRUGS. "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive." -- C.S. Lewis "Surveillence is ultimately just another form of media, and thus, potential entertainment." -- G. Beato

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WARNING: This Message Actually Contains a Question Reguarding Crypto!
by William H. Geiger III 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hi, I just recently downloaded copies of Blowfish & Ghost. Does anyone have any experiance with these two algorithims? How do they comare to RSA, DES, 3DES, IDEA ? I can across a post awhile back that mentioned that they were using Blowfish in PGPPhone. Can anyone confirm this? Does anyone know how they are using Blowfish and why? Thanks, -- ----------------------------------------------------------- William H. Geiger III http://www.amaranth.com/~whgiii Geiger Consulting WebExplorer & Java Enhanced!!! Merlin Beta Test Site - WarpServer SMP Test Site Author of PGPMR2 - PGP Front End for MR/2 Ice Look for MR/2 Tips & Rexx Scripts Get Work Place Shell for Windows!! PGP & MR/2 the only way for secure e-mail. Finger whgiii(a)amaranth.com for PGP Key and other info -----------------------------------------------------------

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Good article on inevitability of unregulated crypto ...
by Ernest Hua 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/print/960624/cover/doc1.html This, of course, is not any indication that we should not stay vigilant. As is clear from every public statement by the past and present administrations, they have an agenda to protect their monopoly on intelligence gathering. They clearly have a strong interest in hamstringing every single challenge to the current regulations. If ITAR is torn down, then they will use the OECD and other international organizations to stop the flow of encryption. It is NOT useful to reason with them. It takes direct confrontation using legislation and court case battles to fix this problem. Ern

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ISPs' information on users
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text X-Sender: rodney(a)pop3.pn.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 08:57:01 -0400 To: dcsb(a)ai.mit.edu From: Rodney Thayer <rodney(a)sabletech.com> Subject: ISPs' information on users Sender: bounce-dcsb(a)ai.mit.edu Precedence: bulk Reply-To: Rodney Thayer <rodney(a)sabletech.com> Something to think about before any of us start selling Ketchup on-line via E-cash... >Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 23:53:02 -0400 >From: darius(a)world.std.com (Darius Thabit) >Subject: ISPs' information on users >Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 01:18:59 -0700 (PDT) >From: Phil Agre <pagre(a)weber.ucsd.edu> > >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= >This message was forwarded through the Red Rock Eater News Service (RRE). >Send any replies to the original author, listed in the From: field below. >You are welcome to send the message along to others but please do not use >the "redirect" command. For information on RRE, including instructions >for (un)subscribing, send an empty message to rre-help(a)weber.ucsd.edu >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > >Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 19:16:19 +0200 >From: steve(a)isys.hu (Steven Carlson) >To: hungary-online-announce(a)hungary.yak.net >Subject: (HOL-A) It's a Brave Old World > > ------------------------------ > Brave Old World: > Reflections on Europe in the Digital Age > by Steven Carlson; 20 Sep 1996 > ------------------------------ > > ** So Much Fuss About A Bottle Of Ketchup > > Hungarian police recently sent a fax around to the local Internet > service providers (ISPs) asking them to provide lists of their users > in Esztergom, a small town outside of Budapest. It seems somebody > had planted a bomb in a bottle of ketchup. Since everyone knows you > can download bomb-making instructions from the Internet, the police > figured they should investigate the local users. No, I'm not making > this up. > > What's more, nearly every local ISP gave the police this information. > Fortunately my company has no users in Esztergom and so that's what we > told the police. We got off lucky. Believe me, as much as might want > to make a stand for privacy of information my company is NOT eager to > do battle with the Hungarian authorities. > > But that's what it might take. Because if the Hungarian police really > understood the Internet they could have asked for even more. For > example, it would only take a few keystrokes to forward a users' mail > to the authorities. The police might also have asked for old email, > since many ISPs back this up routinely. > > But that's not all. Some ISPs run caching servers, machines that store > frequently-viewed webpages so that users access them locally rather > than across the net. An ISP's caching server could give the police a > profile of what web pages the users have been browsing. > > I'm not trying to scare anyone. My point is that sharing information > on the Internet is a two-way street. Computers keep extensive records. > Using the Internet often means you leave a trail behind you. This is > part of life in the digital age. > > This "electronic trail" is not unique to the Internet. Every time you > use a credit card you create a record in several computers. Other > computers may be storing information about you such as your medical > history, driving record, tax filings and so on. The more we rely on > computers to manage our affairs, the more information that may be "out > there." This means citizens in the digital age should know their > rights. > > Many governments already have laws to protect private information. For > example, the US has many laws restricting access to sensitive > information such as medical and credit records. You might be surprised > to know Hungary passed a law in 1991 to prevent misuse of information > associated with the national identity card. > > Yet the growth of new technologies is outpacing legislation. For > example, Holland and other countries are experimenting with "smart > road" systems that can identify the licence number of a moving car for > purposes of toll collection. Cellular phones and satellite navigation > systems can report the locations of their users. It's not difficult to > imagine how these and other technologies could be abused. > > Of course, now you know that even your local Internet provider has > access to some rather sensitive information about you. This leads me > to ask: what sort of service is your Internet provider actually > offering? > > When it comes down to it, your ISP is like your doctor, your lawyer, > your accountant or your psychiatrist. Each of these professionals > deals with your data; each profession is governed by a code of ethics, > written or implicit. Moreover these limits are codified in law. If > your accountant allowed your competitors to read the company books, > you could take him to court. > > Similarly, your Internet provider has an implicit duty to protect the > privacy of your communication. Most professionals in my industry > recognize this. I know most of the people working in Hungarian > Internet and I doubt very much that they are reading your mail or > mine. But they don't know where they stand in the eyes of the law. > > Internet professionals should certainly assist the police in a > legitimate investigation. But should every Internet user in Esztergom > be investigated just because they could (theoretically) find > bomb-making information on the Internet? > > To hammer that point home a local Internet-based magazine has > published, in Hungarian, complete bomb-making instructions: > <http://www.idg.hu/internetto/cyber/special/dinamit.htm>. In other > words, if you've read this far you may be the subject of a future > investigation. Have a nice day! > > > > ** Further Links: > > The Electronic Frontier Foundation > <http://www.eff.org> > The International Electronic Rights Server > <http://www.privacy.org> > The Electronic Privacy Information Center > <http://www.epic.org> > > ---------------------------------------------------- > Copyright (c) 1996. Permission granted to redistribute this article in > electronic form for non-profit purposes only. My byline and this message > must remain intact. Contact me <steve(a)isys.hu> for reprint rights. >----------------------------------------------------- > > > > > --- from Rodney Thayer <rodney(a)sabletech.com> +1 617 332 7292 --- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe from this list, send a letter to: Majordomo(a)ai.mit.edu In the body of the message, write: unsubscribe dcsb Or, to subscribe, write: subscribe dcsb If you have questions, write to me at Owner-DCSB(a)ai.mit.edu --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah(a)shipwright.com) e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "'Bart Bucks' are not legal tender." -- Punishment, 100 times on a chalkboard, for Bart Simpson The e$ Home Page: http://www.vmeng.com/rah/

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Tamper-Resistant Software from INTEL
by Scott Guthery 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Has anybody heard of tamper-resistant software in general or a method for tamper-resistant software from Intel in particular? -*-*-*-*-*-*-*- http://www.snailbox.com -*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Scott Guthery Home: 1 512 266 1278 The SnailBox Work: 1 512 331 3774 12417 River Bend #6 FAX: 1 512 331 3059 Austin, Texas 78732 Email: guthery(a)snailbox.com

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FLITE is now on the web
by John Fricker 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- http://www.fedworld.gov/supcourt/index.htm 7000 supreme court decisions from 1937 to 1975 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.9 iQCVAgUBMkhnzbuA0owOB/fpAQEKWwQArJwMFrL5kVXSYfNC9I8T8bzi+8D8Zdma vZj84TB+2KmW28wuFvbxnVE02MT4DMkwTYR8NQpGfAxsHHkOCOzkasdVB1IRpnpP RUuZsyQ3Iabm3q7INywMcy+c+u+5bl6stzYAlKVypsmPYJh0J9TSnhH5zN+xdowG /6dj+90GGNc= =/4qd -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: AP
by dlv＠bwalk.dm.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Derek Bell <dbell(a)maths.tcd.ie> writes: > In message <6XJquD10w165w(a)bwalk.dm.com>, "Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM" writes: > >There is no such thing as an "ordinary citizen". When the U.S. commits > >war crimes in Korea, Viet Nam, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Iraq, and elsewhere > >every American taxpayer is an accomplice and a fair game. Likewise, any > >Britih subject is fair game for IRA's self-defense against centuries of > >British genocide and oppression. > > An odd attitude to take - personally, I only hold people responsible > for what they did, not what their government did. In Dimitri's scenario, > the IRA could justify killing any British citizen for the British government' > actions - even if that citizen _supported_ the IRA or agreed with its aims. Yes, I do. --- Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps

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Re: Anonymous remailer information <unsolcitied NOISE>
by Ted Garrett 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On Tue, 24 Sep 1996, Super User wrote: > Hello! > > Thank you for your interest in our anonymous service. We > believe our remailer to be the best on the 'Net. Wasn't aware I'd asked for any information regarding your 'anonymous' service. Whether you believe it to be the best on the net or not, I was completely unaware of it's existence. > The service costs $5.00 a month and will allow you to send > mail anywhere on the internet with a false ("spoofed") return > address. THIS IS INTENDED FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY! Hmm... I've heard of remailers being run for legitimate reasons like protecting freedom of speech, allowing a means to disseminate information anonymously, and simply protecting the identity of the person sending the message, but never for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY... > Q: How does the service work? Ok, I'll bite.. > A: You simply send your letter to anon(a)interlink-bbs.com, > following the format which we will detail when you > subscribe, and your letter will be remailed with the new > return address. Don't I encrypt it first with the public key of your remailer? Otherwise, how can I instruct the mailer which next hops to make? And since I'm sending all this in the clear to your remailer, don't I end up being open for a man in the middle attack, traffic analysis, and just plain anybody with a sniffer on my ISPs terminal servers. > Q: Can I post to USENET with your remailer? > A: Yes, if you use a gateway. We will provide complete > instructions at your request (assuming you have an account). Ah, so I can post the hundreds of kiddie porn pics I have through your service and be moderately untraceable? > Q: Can I send files? > A: If you uuencode them first, yes. Well, naturally. Most mail systems on the internet have serious problems digesting binary objects. Oh, I guess you were expecting that I'd use the Microsoft Mailer... > Q: May I test your service for free? > A: No. Yet another question I didn't ask. > Q: Does anyone ever complain about receiving mail which > has been forwarded from InterLink? > A: Sometimes. What we do is we block the address of > the complainer so that no more mail may be forwarded to > that address. Sounds like a plan. Can I have my name removed from your unsolicited mailing list this way? When I start running a remailer service, I think I'll adopt that strategy, if possible. Of course, MY remailer will be a cypherpunks style remailer or a mixmaster. And it'll be free, too. Of course, people will need to know a little bit about crypto and privacy to use it... but hey, ya gotta keep out the riff-raff somehow. > Repeated complaints will result in your account being closed. > This has not been a problem in the past, however, perhaps > because no one knew to whom a complaint could be sent! Or perhaps because no one in their right minds believes your remailer to be anonymous.

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