December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

OECD resolution?
by Lucky Green 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Now that the OECD meeting is over, does anybody have a final version of their resolution? As opposed to the draft versions available on the net? Thanks, -- Lucky Green <mailto:shamrock@netcom.com> PGP encrypted mail preferred Make your mark in the history of mathematics. Use the spare cycles of your PC/PPC/UNIX box to help find a new prime. http://www.mersenne.org/prime.htm

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Re: "Deeyenda" E-MAil virus alert!!!!!!
by Bob Antia 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I will not go into a rant about the technical impossibilities of such a virus, I'll just forward this pice of information on, hoping that it will get read and filed, to be used as future reference. This is a hoax. These hoaxes are becoming so prevalent that the CIAC put out a bulletin about such hoaxes. Here is the bulletin: __________________________________________________________ The U.S. Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability ___ __ __ _ ___ / | /_\ / \___ __|__ / \ \___ __________________________________________________________ INFORMATION BULLETIN Internet Hoaxes: PKZ300, Irina, Good Times, Deeyenda, Ghost November 20, 1996 15:00 GMT Number H-05 ______________________________________________________________________________ PROBLEM: This bulletin addresses the following hoaxes and erroneous warnings: PKZ300 Warning, Irina, Good Times, Deeyenda, and Ghost.exe PLATFORM: All, via e-mail DAMAGE: Time lost reading and responding to the messages SOLUTION: Pass unvalidated warnings only to your computer security department or incident response team. See below on how to recognize validated and unvalidated warnings and hoaxes. ______________________________________________________________________________ VULNERABILITY New hoaxes and warnings have appeared on the Internet and old ASSESSMENT: hoaxes are still being cirulated. ______________________________________________________________________________ Introduction ============ The Internet is constantly being flooded with information about computer viruses and Trojans. However, interspersed among real virus notices are computer virus hoaxes. While these hoaxes do not infect systems, they are still time consuming and costly to handle. At CIAC, we find that we are spending much more time de-bunking hoaxes than handling real virus incidents. This advisory addresses the most recent warnings that have appeared on the Internet and are being circulated throughout world today. We will also address the history behind virus hoaxes, how to identify a hoax, and what to do if you think a message is or is not a hoax. Users are requested to please not spread unconfirmed warnings about viruses and Trojans. If you receive an unvalidated warning, don't pass it to all your friends, pass it to your computer security manager to validate first. Validated warnings from the incident response teams and antivirus vendors have valid return addresses and are usually PGP signed with the organization's key. PKZ300 Warning ============== The PKZ300 Trojan is a real Trojan program, but the initial warning about it was released over a year ago. For information pertaining to PKZ300 Trojan reference CIAC Notes issue 95-10, that was released in June of 1995. http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/notes/Notes10.shtml The warning itself, on the other hand, is gaining urban legend status. There has been an extremely limited number of sightings of this Trojan and those appeared over a year ago. Even though the Trojan warning is real, the repeated circulation of the warning is a nuisance. Individuals who need the current release of PKZIP should visit the PKWARE web page at http://www.pkware.com. CIAC recommends that you DO NOT recirculate the warning about this particular Trojan. Irina Virus Hoax ================ The "Irina" virus warnings are a hoax. The former head of an electronic publishing company circulated the warning to create publicity for a new interactive book by the same name. The publishing company has apologized for the publicity stunt that backfired and panicked Internet users worldwide. The original warning claimed to be from a Professor Edward Pridedaux of the College of Slavic Studies in London; there is no such person or college. However, London's School of Slavonic and East European Studies has been inundated with calls. This poorly thought-out publicity stunt was highly irresponsible. For more information pertaining to this hoax, reference the UK Daily Telegraph at http://www.telegraph.co.uk. Good Times Virus Hoax ===================== The "Good Times" virus warnings are a hoax. There is no virus by that name in existence today. These warnings have been circulating the Internet for years. The user community must become aware that it is unlikely that a virus can be constructed to behave in the manner ascribed in the "Good Times" virus warning. For more information related to this urban legend, reference CIAC Notes 95-09. http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/notes/Notes09.shtml Deeyenda Virus Hoax =================== The "Deeyenda" virus warnings are a hoax. CIAC has received inqueries regarding the validity of the Deeyenda virus. The warnings are very similar to those for Good Times, stating that the FCC issued a warning about it, and that it is self activating and can destroy the contents of a machine just by being downloaded. Users should note that the FCC does not and will not issue virus or Trojan warnings. It is not their job to do so. As of this date, there are no known viruses with the name Deeyenda in existence. For a virus to spread, it must be executed. Reading a mail message does not execute the mail message. Trojans and viruses have been found as executable attachments to mail messages, but they must be extracted and executed to do any harm. CIAC still affirms that reading E-mail, using typical mail agents, can not activate malicious code delivered in or with the message. Ghost.exe Warning ================= The Ghost.exe program was originally distributed as a free screen saver containing some advertising information for the author's company (Access Softek). The program opens a window that shows a Halloween background with ghosts flying around the screen. On any Friday the 13th, the program window title changes and the ghosts fly off the window and around the screen. Someone apparently got worried and sent a message indicating that this might be a Trojan. The warning grew until the it said that Ghost.exe was a Trojan that would destroy your hard drive and the developers got a lot of nasty phone calls (their names and phone numbers were in the About box of the program.) A simple phone call to the number listed in the program would have stopped this warning from being sent out. The original ghost.exe program is just cute; it does not do anything damaging. Note that this does not mean that ghost could not be infected with a virus that does do damage, so the normal antivirus procedure of scanning it before running it should be followed. History of Virus Hoaxes ======================= Since 1988, computer virus hoaxes have been circulating the Internet. In October of that year, according to Ferbrache ("A pathology of Computer Viruses" Springer, London, 1992) one of the first virus hoaxes was the 2400 baud modem virus: SUBJ: Really Nasty Virus AREA: GENERAL (1) I've just discovered probably the world's worst computer virus yet. I had just finished a late night session of BBS'ing and file treading when I exited Telix 3 and attempted to run pkxarc to unarc the software I had downloaded. Next thing I knew my hard disk was seeking all over and it was apparently writing random sectors. Thank god for strong coffee and a recent backup. Everything was back to normal, so I called the BBS again and downloaded a file. When I went to use ddir to list the directory, my hard disk was getting trashed again. I tried Procomm Plus TD and also PC Talk 3. Same results every time. Something was up so I hooked up to my test equipment and different modems (I do research and development for a local computer telecommunications company and have an in-house lab at my disposal). After another hour of corrupted hard drives I found what I think is the world's worst computer virus yet. The virus distributes itself on the modem sub- carrier present in all 2400 baud and up modems. The sub-carrier is used for ROM and register debugging purposes only, and otherwise serves no othr (sp) purpose. The virus sets a bit pattern in one of the internal modem registers, but it seemed to screw up the other registers on my USR. A modem that has been "infected" with this virus will then transmit the virus to other modems that use a subcarrier (I suppose those who use 300 and 1200 baud modems should be immune). The virus then attaches itself to all binary incoming data and infects the host computer's hard disk. The only way to get rid of this virus is to completely reset all the modem registers by hand, but I haven't found a way to vaccinate a modem against the virus, but there is the possibility of building a subcarrier filter. I am calling on a 1200 baud modem to enter this message, and have advised the sysops of the two other boards (names withheld). I don't know how this virus originated, but I'm sure it is the work of someone in the computer telecommunications field such as myself. Probably the best thing to do now is to stick to 1200 baud until we figure this thing out. Mike RoChenle This bogus virus description spawned a humorous alert by Robert Morris III : Date: 11-31-88 (24:60) Number: 32769 To: ALL Refer#: NONE From: ROBERT MORRIS III Read: (N/A) Subj: VIRUS ALERT Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE Warning: There's a new virus on the loose that's worse than anything I've seen before! It gets in through the power line, riding on the powerline 60 Hz subcarrier. It works by changing the serial port pinouts, and by reversing the direction one's disks spin. Over 300,000 systems have been hit by it here in Murphy, West Dakota alone! And that's just in the last 12 minutes. It attacks DOS, Unix, TOPS-20, Apple-II, VMS, MVS, Multics, Mac, RSX-11, ITS, TRS-80, and VHS systems. To prevent the spresd of the worm: 1) Don't use the powerline. 2) Don't use batteries either, since there are rumors that this virus has invaded most major battery plants and is infecting the positive poles of the batteries. (You might try hooking up just the negative pole.) 3) Don't upload or download files. 4) Don't store files on floppy disks or hard disks. 5) Don't read messages. Not even this one! 6) Don't use serial ports, modems, or phone lines. 7) Don't use keyboards, screens, or printers. 8) Don't use switches, CPUs, memories, microprocessors, or mainframes. 9) Don't use electric lights, electric or gas heat or airconditioning, running water, writing, fire, clothing or the wheel. I'm sure if we are all careful to follow these 9 easy steps, this virus can be eradicated, and the precious electronic flui9ds of our computers can be kept pure. ---RTM III Since that time virus hoaxes have flooded the Internet.With thousands of viruses worldwide, virus paranoia in the community has risen to an extremely high level. It is this paranoia that fuels virus hoaxes. A good example of this behavior is the "Good Times" virus hoax which started in 1994 and is still circulating the Internet today. Instead of spreading from one computer to another by itself, Good Times relies on people to pass it along. How to Identify a Hoax ====================== There are several methods to identify virus hoaxes, but first consider what makes a successful hoax on the Internet. There are two known factors that make a successful virus hoax, they are: (1) technical sounding language, and (2) credibility by association. If the warning uses the proper technical jargon, most individuals, including technologically savy individuals, tend to believe the warning is real. For example, the Good Times hoax says that "...if the program is not stopped, the computer's processor will be placed in an nth-complexity infinite binary loop which can severely damage the processor...". The first time you read this, it sounds like it might be something real. With a little research, you find that there is no such thing as an nth-complexity infinite binary loop and that processors are designed to run loops for weeks at a time without damage. When we say credibility by association we are referring to whom sent the warning. If the janitor at a large technological organization sends a warning to someone outside of that organization, people on the outside tend to believe the warning because the company should know about those things. Even though the person sending the warning may not have a clue what he is talking about, the prestigue of the company backs the warning, making it appear real. If a manager at the company sends the warning, the message is doubly backed by the company's and the manager's reputations. Individuals should also be especially alert if the warning urges you to pass it on to your friends. This should raise a red flag that the warning may be a hoax. Another flag to watch for is when the warning indicates that it is a Federal Communication Commission (FCC) warning. According to the FCC, they have not and never will disseminate warnings on viruses. It is not part of their job. CIAC recommends that you DO NOT circulate virus warnings without first checking with an authoritative source. Authoritative sources are your computer system security administrator or a computer incident advisory team. Real warnings about viruses and other network problems are issued by different response teams (CIAC, CERT, ASSIST, NASIRC, etc.) and are digitally signed by the sending team using PGP. If you download a warning from a teams web site or validate the PGP signature, you can usually be assured that the warning is real. Warnings without the name of the person sending the original notice, or warnings with names, addresses and phone numbers that do not actually exist are probably hoaxes. What to Do When You Receive a Warning ===================================== Upon receiving a warning, you should examine its PGP signature to see that it is from a real response team or antivirus organization. To do so, you will need a copy of the PGP software and the public signature of the team that sent the message. The CIAC signature is available from the CIAC web server at: http://ciac.llnl.gov If there is no PGP signature, see if the warning includes the name of the person submitting the original warning. Contact that person to see if he/she really wrote the warning and if he/she really touched the virus. If he/she is passing on a rumor or if the address of the person does not exist or if there is any questions about theauthenticity or the warning, do not circulate it to others. Instead, send the warning to your computer security manager or incident response team and let them validate it. When in doubt, do not send it out to the world. Your computer security managers and the incident response teams teams have experts who try to stay current on viruses and their warnings. In addition, most anti-virus companies have a web page containing information about most known viruses and hoaxes. You can also call or check the web site of the company that produces the product that is supposed to contain the virus. Checking the PKWARE site for the current releases of PKZip would stop the circulation of the warning about PKZ300 since there is no released version 3 of PKZip. Another useful web site is the "Computer Virus Myths home page" (http://www.kumite.com/myths/) which contains descriptions of several known hoaxes. In most cases, common sense would eliminate Internet hoaxes. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- CIAC, the Computer Incident Advisory Capability, is the computer security incident response team for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the emergency backup response team for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). CIAC is located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. CIAC is also a founding member of FIRST, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, a global organization established to foster cooperation and coordination among computer security teams worldwide. CIAC services are available to DOE, DOE contractors, and the NIH. CIAC can be contacted at: Voice: +1 510-422-8193 FAX: +1 510-423-8002 STU-III: +1 510-423-2604 E-mail: ciac(a)llnl.gov For emergencies and off-hour assistance, DOE, DOE contractor sites, and the NIH may contact CIAC 24-hours a day. During off hours (5PM - 8AM PST), call the CIAC voice number 510-422-8193 and leave a message, or call 800-759-7243 (800-SKY-PAGE) to send a Sky Page. CIAC has two Sky Page PIN numbers, the primary PIN number, 8550070, is for the CIAC duty person, and the secondary PIN number, 8550074 is for the CIAC Project Leader. Previous CIAC notices, anti-virus software, and other information are available from the CIAC Computer Security Archive. World Wide Web: http://ciac.llnl.gov/ Anonymous FTP: ciac.llnl.gov (128.115.19.53) Modem access: +1 (510) 423-4753 (28.8K baud) +1 (510) 423-3331 (28.8K baud) CIAC has several self-subscribing mailing lists for electronic publications: 1. CIAC-BULLETIN for Advisories, highest priority - time critical information and Bulletins, important computer security information; 2. CIAC-NOTES for Notes, a collection of computer security articles; 3. SPI-ANNOUNCE for official news about Security Profile Inspector (SPI) software updates, new features, distribution and availability; 4. SPI-NOTES, for discussion of problems and solutions regarding the use of SPI products. Our mailing lists are managed by a public domain software package called ListProcessor, which ignores E-mail header subject lines. To subscribe (add yourself) to one of our mailing lists, send the following request as the E-mail message body, substituting CIAC-BULLETIN, CIAC-NOTES, SPI-ANNOUNCE or SPI-NOTES for list-name and valid information for LastName FirstName and PhoneNumber when sending E-mail to ciac-listproc(a)llnl.gov: subscribe list-name LastName, FirstName PhoneNumber e.g., subscribe ciac-notes OHara, Scarlett W. 404-555-1212 x36 You will receive an acknowledgment containing address, initial PIN, and information on how to change either of them, cancel your subscription, or get help. PLEASE NOTE: Many users outside of the DOE, ESnet, and NIH computing communities receive CIAC bulletins. If you are not part of these communities, please contact your agency's response team to report incidents. Your agency's team will coordinate with CIAC. The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) is a world-wide organization. A list of FIRST member organizations and their constituencies can be obtained by sending email to docserver(a)first.org with an empty subject line and a message body containing the line: send first-contacts. This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor the University of California nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favoring by the United States Government or the University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or the University of California, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. LAST 10 CIAC BULLETINS ISSUED (Previous bulletins available from CIAC) G-43: Vulnerabilities in Sendmail G-44: SCO Unix Vulnerability G-45: Vulnerability in HP VUE G-46: Vulnerabilities in Transarc DCE and DFS G-47: Unix FLEXlm Vulnerabilities G-48: TCP SYN Flooding and IP Spoofing Attacks H-01: Vulnerabilities in bash H-02: SUN's TCP SYN Flooding Solutions H-03: HP-UX_suid_Vulnerabilities H-04: HP-UX Ping Vulnerability RECENT CIAC NOTES ISSUED (Previous Notes available from CIAC) Notes 07 - 3/29/95 A comprehensive review of SATAN Notes 08 - 4/4/95 A Courtney update Notes 09 - 4/24/95 More on the "Good Times" virus urban legend Notes 10 - 6/16/95 PKZ300B Trojan, Logdaemon/FreeBSD, vulnerability in S/Key, EBOLA Virus Hoax, and Caibua Virus Notes 11 - 7/31/95 Virus Update, Hats Off to Administrators, America On-Line Virus Scare, SPI 3.2.2 Released, The Die_Hard Virus Notes 12 - 9/12/95 Securely configuring Public Telnet Services, X Windows, beta release of Merlin, Microsoft Word Macro Viruses, Allegations of Inappropriate Data Collection in Win95 Notes 96-01 - 3/18/96 Java and JavaScript Vulnerabilities, FIRST Conference Announcement, Security and Web Search Engines, Microsoft Word Macro Virus Update -b Bob Antia antia(a)leftbank.com The Left Bank Operation, Inc. http://www.leftbank.com TCP/IP Internetworking LAN/WAN/NT/UNIX Admin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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

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"Deeyenda" E-MAil virus alert!!!!!!
by tedk 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

To: ALL From: Ted Kochanski Re: "Deeyenda" E-MAIL Virus ALERT #: 2456 S0/CompuServe Mail [MAIL] 20-Dec-96 20:23 EST Sb: Virus Alert Fm: Art Ellingsen > INTERNET:artell@ix.netcom.com To: Robert M. Avallone [70733,1707] Dear ALL: I apologize if I happen to send this two you more than once. If so it was not intentional. I received this warning from a reliable software vendor and thought I would pass it on to you and wish you a Merry Christmas too. **********************VIRUS ALERT************************************ VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ! There is a computer virus that is being sent across the Internet. If you receive an E-Mail message with the subject line "Deeyenda", DO NOT read the message, DELETE it immediately! Some miscreant is sending E-Mail under the title "Deeyenda" nationwide, if you get anything like this DON'T DOWNLOAD THE FILE! It has a virus that rewrites your hard drive, obliterates anything on it. Please be careful and forward this E-Mail to anyone you care about. Please read the message below. FCC WARNING!!!!! -----DEEYENDA PLAGUES INTERNET The Internet community has again been plagued by another computer virus. This message is being spread throughout the Internet, including USENET posting, E-MAIL, and other Internet activities. The reason for all the attention is because of the nature of this virus and the potential security risk it makes. Instead of a destructive Trojan virus (like most viruses!), this virus referred to as Deeyenda Maddick, performs a comprehensive search on your computer, looking for valuable information, such as E-Mail and login passwords, credit cards, personal inf., etc. The Deeyenda virus also has the capability to stay memory resident while running a host of applications and operation systems, such as Windows 3.11 and Windows 95. What this means to Internet users is that when a login and password are send to the server, this virus can copy this information and SEND IT OUT TO UN UNKNOWN ADDRESS (varies). The reason for this warning is because the Deeyenda virus is virtually undetectable. Once attacked your computer will be unsecured. Although it can attack any O/S this virus is most likely to attack those users viewing Java enhanced Web Pages (Netscape 2.0+ and Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0+ which are running under Windows 95). Researchers at Princeton University have found this virus on a number of World Wide Web pages and fear its spread. Please pass this on, for we must alert the general public of the security risks. Steven Chevalier Vice President Distribution VersaNet International ******************************** Art Ted *************************************************************************** Ted Kochanski, Ph.D. Sensors Signals Systems --- "Systematic Solutions to Complex Problems" http://www.sensorsys.com e-mail tpk(a)sensorsys.com phone (617) 861-6167 fax 861-0476 11 Aerial St., Lexington, MA 02173 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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

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RE: "Deeyenda" E-MAil virus alert!!!!!!
by Eric S. Johansson 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On 12/27/96 12:30 PM, tedk (tpk(a)sensorsys.com) writes > To: ALL > >From: Ted Kochanski > >Re: "Deeyenda" E-MAIL Virus ALERT > >#: 2456 S0/CompuServe Mail [MAIL] > 20-Dec-96 20:23 EST > Sb: Virus Alert > Fm: Art Ellingsen > INTERNET:artell@ix.netcom.com > To: Robert M. Avallone [70733,1707] whoops, you been caught hook, line and urban legend :-) check cert alerts for email viruses and how they are closely related to the loch ness monster --- eric Eric S. Johansson ka1eec esj(a)harvee.billerica.ma.us This message was composed almost entirely by DragonDictate. k9 wisdom as translated by DD: "look homeward wrong aroma" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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

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[Fwd: Re: Repair " YOUR OWN " Credit !]
by Carl Johnson 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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Re: CypherRevenge
by Chuq Von Rospach 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 2:35 PM -0800 12/27/96, Carl Johnson wrote: > Then he has the audacity to email my Postmaster, claiming that 'returning' >his mail is 'spamming'? Which Subject: heading bothered him the most, the >one that said, "If you act like an idiot, we'll treat you like one?" (this >is a quote from plaidworks.com's home-page). No, Carl, it was when you started spamming people that I accused you of spamming. Or are you saying that the dozen or so spams (aimed primarily at me and my site) that magically appeared today from *.sk.sympatico.ca IP addresses at the same time as your latest set of abusive return mail is a coincidence? My loopholes aren't as large as you thought they were. They led quite clearly back to you on this one. chuq -- Chuq Von Rospach (chuq(a)solutions.apple.com) Software Gnome Apple Server Marketing Webmaster <http://www.solutions.apple.com/> Plaidworks Consulting (chuqui(a)plaidworks.com) <http://www.plaidworks.com/> (<http://www.plaidworks.com/hockey/> +-+ The home for Hockey on the net) I got no name or number/ I just hand out the lumber. But if I get a chance to play/ I'm going to show 'em. -- Stick Boy (The Hanson Brothers, SUDDEN DEATH)

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Create all the Prospects You Want! Software on Sale!
by ygarcia＠gte.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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Re: RUL_let
by jim bell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 12:15 AM 12/27/96 -0500, Brad Dolan wrote: >On Thu, 26 Dec 1996, Lucky Green wrote: > >> At 08:11 PM 12/26/96 -0500, John Young wrote: >> > >> >"New encryption export rules probably won't be issued until early >> >next week" >> > >> > Rules probably won't be issued until just a day or 2 before they >> > go into effect on January 1, officials said Monday. >> >> Good move on part of the USG. It will keep public discussion to a minimum. >> > >An acquaintance of mine moved here from Germany after the war. >She says that, from her family's perspective, the first clear sign >that things were seriously going to hell was that Hitler and his >friends started issuing proclamations, effective almost immediately, >dictating something else you could or could not do. Later, the >proclamations were made during the night and were effective instantly. Sounds like "government regulations" today, doesn't it! Jim Bell jimbell(a)pacifier.com

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New Crypto Export Rules Monday
by kalliste＠aci.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

27-DEC-1996 18:59 U.S. export encryption rules to be published Monday By Aaron Pressman WASHINGTON, Dec 27 (Reuter) - The Commerce Department will issue final rules on Dec. 30 to implement its new policy on export of computer encoding products, but the proposal is unlikely to mollify the software industry and privacy advocates who objected to a draft version. Some changes were made in the final rules, available Friday at a government printing office, from the earlier draft. But the bulk of the proposal remains the same, including portions strongly criticized by the software industry that applied to real-time communications. Commerce undersecretary William Reinsch had said two weeks ago that the draft rules would be modestly revised, but warned that some objections could not be addressed. Under the previous rules dating from the Cold war, the administration severely limited the export of products containing encryption, programs that use mathematical formulas to scramble information and render it unreadable without a password or software "key." In the past, products could be exported using "keys" as long as 40 digital bits, a string of forty ones and zeros. But as the speed of computers has grown, 40-bit keys have become easy to crack and longer keys have come into general use. At the same time, with the growth of the Internet and online commerce, demand for encryption-capable products is growing worldwide. Coded messages can keep a business' e-mail confidential or protect a consumer's credit card number sent on the Internet. The Commerce Department rules were intended as a compromise, allowing U.S. companies to compete in the encryption market while protecting the interests of law enforcement officials. The policy relies on so-called key recovery features which allow government officials to decode encrypted messages when acting under proper legal authority. Under the policy to be issued Monday, products containing key recovery features will be eligible for export after a one-time review. Software firms had hoped the key recovery exception would only apply to stored data, like a document on a hard drive. But the final rules, like the draft rules, also require key recovery for real-time data transamission such as coded phone calls. Non-key recovery software with keys of up to 56 bits will be exportable under six-month, renewable licenses until the end of 1998, but only if the manufacturer commits to producing software with key recovery by then. Some companies had complained that the government was asking for too much information about their future plans, but the final rules still require submission of detailed plans and committments. All other encryption products, such as state-of-the art 128-bit software without key recovery features, would continue to be treated as munitions. Such products include ordinary e-mail programs and even the recently introduced set-top box for surfing the Internet with a television. The rules deleted a draft provision allowing keys to be stored with a recovery agent located outside of the United States. The final rules also made clear that an applicant's public support of the administration's policy would not be a factor in export license decisions. Rather, helping build the necessary infrastructure would be a factor, the final rules said. A criteria listed as "public support for a key management infrastructure," was changed to "or other support for the key management infrastructure." http://www.aci.net/kalliste/

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Re: RUL_let
by azur＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>Jim Bell wrote: >>On Thu, 26 Dec 1996, Lucky Green wrote: >> >>> At 08:11 PM 12/26/96 -0500, John Young wrote: >>> > >>> >"New encryption export rules probably won't be issued until early >>> >next week" >>> > >>> > Rules probably won't be issued until just a day or 2 before they >>> > go into effect on January 1, officials said Monday. >>> >>> Good move on part of the USG. It will keep public discussion to a minimum. >>> >> >>An acquaintance of mine moved here from Germany after the war. >>She says that, from her family's perspective, the first clear sign >>that things were seriously going to hell was that Hitler and his >>friends started issuing proclamations, effective almost immediately, >>dictating something else you could or could not do. Later, the >>proclamations were made during the night and were effective instantly. > > >Sounds like "government regulations" today, doesn't it! Or the bogus vote taken recently in Korea's legislature when the ruling party held a "secret" vote in the early morning hours (so the opposition parties would be present) to pass contentious labor laws. -- Steve

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