December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: More on the Jim Bell
by harka＠nycmetro.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- -=> Quoting In:alan@ctrl-alt-del.com to Harka <=- In> The news story was a pretty interesting hatchet job. Included In> a number of horsemen and prominently mentioned encryption. In> They claimed that the reason for the raid on East's home was In> because he sent Bell encrypted messages containing various In> evil and unauthorized thoughts. In> Why am I not surprised... Why am I surprised...How the hell did they know, what the messages were about?? (Unless Jim saved his e-mails in plain-text to his hard drive, didn't bother to use SFS or something similar and all this stuff was recovered as a result of the initial search of his house. In which case a lot of list-members might want to start thinking about various possibilities...) Ciao Harka ... This is as bad as it can get -- but don't bet on it. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAgUBM4FrhDltEBIEF0MBAQHFBgf+N22d3ObZH16A4i/GrO9oAyXgdeHzpHRP qRqXigYjy0HrgNGR4ja6i3AqAZjzmIEZKhut+shOqD6wtKhUQHXP6kMxPoVx95Ex FTEOZd6wmAFLzBpqnCxmcla9e7GFAcladnscf8BJhBBq3hBlGY6fkkA43wQOl68T o78wi6XL96JR6rvVSAU3iLXceEQnj3q5o/RfK4cU+s2MMpsuc78iAEujQ2y7FUsU SESRB0UU/h3UggqquPjoEbRNW349OQGEP8Oe+cOIVar3ZCczZqyps1TNllALsYti C6Eo1tcK3fqsRc38GOdSvzp3xj7BkyvX0+lnGFVWrGgYEGyl+G6OzA== =N/hb -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- If encryption is outlawed, only outlaws will have encryption...

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Mixmaster@remail.obscura.com
by de Wet Vorster 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hi, Is this remailer still operational ? Will the following work ? :: Request-Remailing-To:CRIMSTOP@MAGNFS10.eskom.co.za Your help will be appreciated de Wet Vorster Eskom Corporate Investigations

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Re: Public Key Break Paper
by pgut001＠cs.auckland.ac.nz 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>John Young, <jya(a)pipeline.com>, writes: >>In early April we posted a message which referred to William H. Payne's paper >>"Public Key Cryptography is Easy to Break." > >First, it is not a general attack on public key cryptography, but rather it is >a specific method for attacking RSA. > >Second, I remember seeing this algorithm discussed on sci.crypt in the past, >probably in 1996. There was also a response/rebuttal to this paper in RSA's Ciphertext newsletter, Vol.2, No.1 (Summer 1994), p.9, "Public Key Cryptography is Not Easy to Break" which shows that it's not nearly as easy as the author of the original paper thinks. (I had another look at the unbalanced RSA proposal in the Autumn 1995 CryptoBytes as I was trying to find the above article, did anyone ever do anything with unbalanced RSA or was it just left as a curiosity?). Peter.

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Re: Question: RC5 assembly code?
by pgut001＠cs.auckland.ac.nz 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>I have the source code for RC5 encryption algorithm, but it is in C, well it >is still cool since it is "portable" but I am actually looking for a PowerPC >assembly code for the same, or at least for the Key Expansion, Encryption and >Decryption routines. > >The "formula" for RC5 is pretty interesting and looks like is made to be >implemented in Assembler. Not if it's x86 assembler. On the Pentium each rotate uses 4-5 non-pairable cycles, so rotates are very slow (each rotate is the equivalent of (in the best case) 8-10 normal instructions, so the two rotates in an RC5 round are the equivalent of 16-20 other instructions). According to Intel shifts and rotates have been optimised on the PPro so they're slight faster than on the P5, but I haven't looked at the details yet. I haven't tried to formulate the RC5 core in asm yet (because of the patent - what good is it writing code which noone can use?) but on Intel hardware it's certainly going to be a lot slower than it looks (the much more complex CAST core is faster than just the rotates from the RC5 core). This is kind of unfortunate, because it's a nice algorithm. Peter.

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A little list... [Re: Jim Bell goes to Jail!]
by Peter Trei 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

DCF writes: >At 09:12 PM 5/18/97 -0700, Alan Olsen wrote: >>Some of his statements could have been taken as advocating the killing of >>federal employees of various sorts. The question is whether he actually >>tried >>to arrange it in real life. (Which I doubt.) >In the U.S., it is legal to advocate killing anyone except Clinton and his >family and maybe the veep. >DCF While I think AP is appalling (I regard all premeditated killing as unacceptable, whether committed by the state or individuals), the following might be fun: Set up a web page which collects names of 'people you'd like to see hit by a bus'. This is a poll, not AP - no money is involved, and there is no suggestion that these desires be carried into action. Allow people to anonymously add their vote to names already on the list, or nominate new ones themselves. While there is the possibility of abuse (someone sets up a 'bot to nominate their ex-wife 10,000 times), clearly you would not want to try to keep track of who voted for who. I expect we'd see The Usual Suspects, and a lot of people who are known in only limited spheres (sports figures, widely disliked bosses and CEOs). There would also be many individuals with a single vote against them, and a lot of people notorious only on the net. One refinement might be to display names only for people with some threshold of strikes against them - say 20 votes. Another would be to allow people to register both 'yea' or 'nay' on names on the list. I don't have a facilities to set this up myself, so don't ask me. If someone else does it, I hope they check to see of there are any legal implications. Peter Trei trei(a)process.com --------------------------- [ KOKO (the newly appointed Grand High Executioner): I am happy to think that there will be no difficulty in finding plenty of people whose loss will be a distinct gain to society at large. SONG--KO-KO with CHORUS OF MEN. As some day it may happen that a victim must be found, I've got a little list--I've got a little list Of society offenders who might well be underground, And who never would be missed--who never would be missed! There's the pestilential nuisances who write for autographs-- All people who have flabby hands and irritating laughs-- All children who are up in dates, and floor you with 'em flat-- All persons who in shaking hands, shake hands with you like that-- And all third persons who on spoiling tete-a-tetes insist-- They'd none of 'em be missed--they'd none of 'em be missed! etc.... Gilbert & Sullivan, "The Mikado" ]

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Microsoft Responds To Java Security Issues By Posting Fix
by Site Builder Network 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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The anomalies are in the bytecode "verifier", which enforces the security of the Java sandbox. There have been no known attacks that exploit these anomalies, but they could potentially allow a malicious application to get access outside the sandbox. More information is available on the University of Washington's Kimera Project website at http://www.washington.edu/newsroom/news/k051997.html. The updated version of the Microsoft virtual machine is available to all users of Internet Explorer, Internet Information Server and Visual J++ from http://www.microsoft.com/java. All users and developers are encouraged to download the new version of the virtual machine. The updated version will also be distributed with all future releases of Microsoft products containing the virtual machine. ANNOUNCING NEW SITE BUILDER NETWORK DISCUSSION GROUPS Because the Site Builder's Exchange discussion group has been so busy lately, we've decided to divide it into focused discussion groups. 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Swiss Consortium Chooses RPK Fast Public Key Cryptosystem for Next Generation Wireless Electronic Transactions
by Jack Oswald 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Also see recent press coverage in Infoworld: RPK announces deal for fast crypto with Swiss consortium http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?97059.wrpk.htm SET 2.0 on the way http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayArchive.pl?/97/16/t04-16.1.htm PRESS RELEASE For Release May 19, 1997 RPK, Inc.: Jack Oswald, +1 408.479.7874, joswald(a)rpkusa.com, http://www.rpk.co.nz ADESA, Inc.: Maurice Jaccard,+41 22.910.29.14, maujacca(a)iprolink.ch Swiss Consortium Chooses RPK Fast Public Key Cryptosystem for Next Generation Wireless Electronic Transactions Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and ADESA, Inc. introduce HAWK VLSI cryptography-enhanced processor San Francisco, CA - RPK, Inc. announced today that a consortium of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and ADESA, Inc., a Swiss application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design firm have chosen the RPK Fast Public Key Cryptosystem to provide strong cryptographic security in a next generation wireless electronic transactions application. At the same time, EPFL and ADESA unveiled HAWK a new generation cryptography-enhanced microprocessor specifically designed for use in high speed/low power embedded applications. "The RPK encryption technology won the design review after an extensive evaluation of all existing cryptosystems based on well known and understood cryptographic techniques," said Maurice Jaccard, Managing Director of ADESA, Inc. "With RPK there are no compromises. We get uncompromised security, high speed and low cost of implementation." "RPK is a strong encryption technology based on well know and trusted cryptographic techniques," said Jack Oswald, President and CEO of RPK Inc. "Having RPK chosen by the Swiss for this breakthrough electronic-commerce application is the strongest endorsement we could possibly achieve for the RPK technology." Wireless Electronic Transactions Application The collaboration of RPK, EPFL and ADESA has resulted in a prototype application that promises to become the "wallet of the future". This new wireless electronic transaction application may take the form of a credit card, a watch or a key chain and will sport features analogous to the leather wallets used today by billions of people worldwide. Early designs of the system allow the user to withdraw and hold cash in multiple currencies, as well as, purchase and hold vouchers for hotels, planes and car rentals all through the use of wireless communications technology. Officials in charge of the project envision that such devices could also become a personal key chain for gaining access to motor vehicles, offices and dwellings, in addition to traditional credit card uses. ADESA concluded that performance of the RPK implementation in the prototype far exceeded existing smart card implementations based on the RSA and other algorithms. The RPK technology performs the necessary encryption functions in less than 10 milliseconds using an 823-bit key compared to the best performing RSA-based equivalents that require greater than 100 milliseconds to perform the same type of function using a much weaker 512-bit key. The application is not limited to 823-bit keys. The design of the system, based on the new HAWK processor is flexible and can accommodate and process various sized keys, smaller or larger than 823 bits based on downloadable parameters. ADESA officials explained that the simplicity of the RPK algorithm makes it much simpler to implement than the popular RSA approach. It was RPK's simplicity, offering a much faster and cheaper solution while providing even higher security, that drove the choice over RSA for this application. About the RPK Fast Public Key Cryptosystem RPK is a relatively new public key cryptosystem that is based on mathematics widely used in cryptography today. It was designed to be immediately commercially viable without the years of study that a new area of mathematics normally requires, such as the Elliptic Curve Cryptosystem (ECC). The source of the security for RPK is the same as that of Diffie-Hellman key exchange, a widely used and well studied cryptographic technique. RPK offers real advantages for high speed networking, SmartCard, wireless communication applications as well as high volume software processes such as credit card transactions. RPK has at its core an invention called a Mixture Generator. In the preferred implementation, three fairly long linear feedback shift registers are used. This state machine has two modes of operation. One that uses the shift registers for exponentiation and the other as a generator of a random stream of bits used in a combining phase for the actual encryption. Effectively, RPK allows for the amortization of two "costly" exponentiations over the entire length of a message because the core engine is used to initially establish a secure state of the machine and then switches modes to perform very high speed encryption. This has been referred to as a paradigm shift where the operation of encryption does not require the costly calculations that an RSA or even an ECC implementation would require for each block of data that is about the size of the key. This mechanism can also be implemented in silicon quite efficiently such that at high strength it is much cheaper to produce than alternative technologies. Finally, it is also possible to create a Mixture Generator that is made up of Elliptic Curve groups which would provide a similarly speedy and efficient initialization mode that could still produce high speed encryption as noted above. About the HAWK VLSI Crypto Processor The HAWK VLSI cryptography-enhanced processor is the result of more than three years of research and development conducted at the EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland in the area of high speed compression and encryption. The HAWK processor will benefit most cryptography implementations but is particularly well suited for use with RPK. "The HAWK processor is the most innovative approach that we have seen yet for implementing cryptographic processes in silicon," said Bill Raike, Chief Technology Officer for RPK Inc. and inventor of the RPK fast public key cryptosystem. "HAWK breaks the barrier for high speed, low cost, low power and high strength encryption for embedded systems." Background RPK, Inc. is a supplier of next generation fast public key encryption technology. RPK was invented and originally patented in New Zealand. The company is therefore unaffected by restrictive U.S. export rules. RPK has been successfully exported to virtually all countries of the world at high strength. The company's headquarters are based in San Francisco, California, USA, with an offshore research and development center located outside of Auckland, New Zealand. http://www.rpk.co.nz ADESA, Inc. is a leading ASIC design firm based in Geneva, Switzerland with expertise in embedded and cryptographic applications. EPFL is a leading teaching and research technical institute in Lausanne, Switzerland. The school is known for its work in advanced processor design. ***

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Re: Public Key Break Paper
by Hal Finney 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Peter Gutmann, pgut001(a)cs.auckland.ac.nz, writes: > (I had another look at the unbalanced RSA proposal in the Autumn 1995 > CryptoBytes as I was trying to find the above article, did anyone ever do > anything with unbalanced RSA or was it just left as a curiosity?). The unbalanced RSA idea, by Shamir, was to choose primes p and q with p considerably less than q, e.g. p = 500 bits, q = 4500 bits. With numbers of this size, the difficulty of factoring a 5000 bit n = pq is still just as hard as if p and q were both about 2500 bits. Then, you only encrypt numbers < p, and it turns out that you can do the decryption mod p rather than mod n, so decrypt is much, much faster than for a conventional 5000 bit modulus. There have been some attacks on this. The main limitation is that the encrypted number is supposed to be < p. There is a chosen-cyphertext attack, taking an x a few bits larger than p, encrypting it, and asking for the resulting decryption. This produces x mod p, which combined with x can be used to find p. Another attack along these lines is to guess x about the size of p, send a legitimate message based on it, then watch the receiver's behavior to try to determine whether the message had decrypted correctly. If x < p it would decrypt OK, otherwise it would decrypt to garbage. Repeat this to narrow down an interval containing p. I believe these were presented by Quisquater at the Crypto 96 rump session, although I think he was referring in part to some attacks which had already been discovered. Hal

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Disneyfication, Privatization of the Public Domain... Turn the Planet into a Strip-Mall and Theme Park.....
by mf＠mediafilter.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Disneyfication, Privatization of the Public Domain... Turn the Planet into a Strip-Mall and Theme Park..... Hear the realaudio netcast of Infinity Factory Hosted by Richard Metzger of Disinfo.com talking with Paul Garrin about name.space and the future of the net. originally netcast live on May 11, 1997. (this is a realaudio link, so be prepared...) http://www.pseudo.com/archives/infinityMay11_1997_0848pm.ram name.space: http://name.space.xs2.net DisInfo: http://www.disinfo.com

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PGP version 5 source code?
by lucifer＠dhp.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Will PGP Inc make the source code for the new version of pgp available?

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