December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

InfoWar 20 / TEXT
by A Player To Be Named Later 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The True Story of the InterNet Part III InfoWar Final Frontier of the Digital Revolution Behind the ElectroMagnetic Curtain by TruthMonger <tm(a)dev.null> Copyright 1997 Pearl Publishing ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- InfoWar Table of Contents * A Billionaire To Be Named Later ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Billionaire To Be Named Later ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Did you notice the way 'Mojave' was misspelled?" the Shadow asked the Rich Man. Bad BillyG nodded slowly, looked up at the Shadow and said, "I also noticed that he used the 'replay' remailer and spoke of 'deja vu.'" "Indio?" the Shadow asked Bad BillyG, not having to wait for his confirmation to know that the anonymous writer was referring to the Wackenhut/Cabazon weapons fencing operation. "I've got someone checking the physical site as we speak," BillyG told the Shadow, "but I think it's obvious that the references to Lefty and the tassel-haired young woman firing a shotgun with one hand means that these people recreated an event that happened over a decade and a half ago, only" Bad BillyG paused to swallow, "only this time, the targets are us, not them." The Shadow and his earthly compatriot turned their attention to the anonymous post, once again, confirming what they already knew, and scanning for more details of the writers veiled message, therein. Subject: Not-News Gorilla NutWork Rocket-Launched From: nobody(a)REPLAY.COM (Anonymous) Organization: Replay and Company UnLimited To: cypherpunks(a)toad.com [Not-News NetWork-- Mohave Desert] Aug 4/97 WHAT DOES A FIVE HUNDRED POUND GORILLA READ AT THE BREAKFAST TABLE? - sog The "Not-News Gorilla NutWork" was rocket-launched in the Mohave Desert early yesterday morning by a rag-tag bunch of paramilitarist computer gurus who unveiled an InterNet Bill of Bytes that included the words, "MicroSoft shall make no laws..." Angered by a self-appointed council of computer industry magnates who have announced their intention to seize fascist control of the quickly burgeoning Information Highway by controlling the definition of all information, the rebels set up a shooting range which contained a wide variety of targets ranging from copies of the Wall Street Journal to life-sized cardboard cut-outs of a hooded figure referred to only as, "a billionaire to be named later." A Che Guerva look-alike named Lefty (a nickname changed from "Lucky" after a laboratory accident took three of the fingers on his right hand) spoke openly about the group's loose-knit plans to impose their own ratings system on corporations who have "taken it upon themselves to decide what is news and what is not--what is information and what is obscenity." "We have decided on two classes of ratings." explained a tassel- haired young woman as she slid shells into a Winchester Defender sitting on her lap. "On..." she said, lifting the shotgun with one hand, then liberating the hooded head from a nearby cardboard cut-out, before turning back to say, with a Cheshire grin, "...and off." The wide array of luxury automobiles and high-end computer gear on display at the gathering lent credence to the claim of a quiet older man whose only comment during my presence was, "The people here probably have a combined access to more soft targets than the NSA." He turned to punctuate his statement, as many others did that day, with a volley of fire that penetrated targets carrying the corporate logos of a variety of big-name players in the computer industry. Surprisingly, the conversation consisted almost totally of issues surrounding privacy, self-determination and freedom from censorship, with hardly a word being spoken about potential plans of action by individuals or the group. As the quiet man's equally quiet wife spoke in what seemed to be a deathly whisper, telling me, "Everyone here knows what they have to do.", a man with a crude, homemade rocket-launcher sent a flaming projectile into the side of a small propane tank several hundred feet away, as if punctuating the last and most meaningful statement of the day. After quietly dispersing a few minutes later, the group packed up their weapons and climbed into their vehicles without a word between them, each seemingly going their own separate ways. I stayed on after the last of the others had left, reflecting on the fact that I had arrived at this gathering by virtue of a late-night phone call to my unlisted number, and found that I knew none of the participants in the activities. I had the strangest feeling that the others there had arrived by the same anonymous process as I had, and I wondered if they were equally mystified as to who had arranged this impromptu assembly of apparent strangers joined in a common cause. Immediately, one of the pickup trucks driving away backfired, and I thought of synchronicity, knowing that the truck would backfire once again, which it immediately did, before disappearing quietly out of sight. Climbing into my own vehicle, I took a last look at the site, which had been cleaned and left exactly the way it was when I had first arrived on the scene. I experienced a moment of deja vu, as if I had just arrived and none of what I had experienced that day had truly transpired. Somewhere in the distance, a vehicle backfired... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Disclaimer - I am not a reporter, I am not a paramilitarist, and I am not a computer expert. I have no idea what I was doing there and I am not even certain that I should be speaking about the event...but I am. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Player To Be Named Later put down the 'Not-News Gorilla NutWork Rocket-Launched' post and scanned portions of the INSLAW/Octopus report from NaziWorld, once again. The INSLAW Octopus Software piracy, conspiracy, cover-up, stonewalling, covert action: Just another decade at the Department of Justice By Richard L. Fricker But prior to his arrest in 1991, Riconosciuto provided the Hamiltons with an affidavit that once again brought Brian into the Inslaw picture. "I engaged in some software development and modification work in 1983 and 1984 on proprietary PROMIS computer software product," he stated. "The copy of PROMIS on which I worked came from the US Department of Justice. Earl W. Brian made it available to me through Wackenhut (a security company with close FBI and CIA connections) after acquiring it from Peter Videnieks, who was then a Department of Justice contracting official with the responsibility for PROMIS software. I performed the modifications to PROMIS in Indio, Calif.; Silver Springs, Md.; and Miami, Fla." The modifications included a telecommunications "trap door" that would let the US Government eavesdrop on any other organization using the pirated software, Riconosciuto said. Although Brian denies any involvement with Inslaw or Riconosciuto, the House Judiciary Committee received a report from a special task force of the Riverside County, Calif., Sheriff's Office and District Attorney, stating that on the evening of Sept. 10, 1981, arms dealers, buyers and various intelligence operatives gathered at the Cabazon Indian Reservation near Indio, Calif., for a demonstration of night warfare weapons. The demonstration was orchestrated jointly by Wackenhut and the Cabazon Indian tribe. (Many published reports allege that the Wackenhut/Cabazon joint venture served as a weapons fencing operation for Oliver North's Iran- Contra dealings.) Bad BillyG involved in that mess? A Player To Be Named Later shook his head negatively, to himself. It seemed unlikely, but it would explain a few things which had been troubling him, lately. And it would mean that the anonymous poster knew enough intimate details of an event that had been shrouded in deep secrecy to pose a threat to all those connected with the Indio affair. It would also explain the apparently strange ending to a major play by the news and computer industry heavyweights calling themselves the 'Internet Content Coalition' that the anonymous post seemed to be threatening. For starters, Microsoft made an immediate about-face, within hours of the anonymous post, on their plans to include technology supporting the Internet Content Coalition's aims in their next version of Internet Explorer. >From - Wed Aug 06 19:31:05 1997 From: nobody(a)neva.org (Neva Remailer) Subject: MicroGorilla Postpones Rocket-Launch Plans Until..."likely sometime next year." >Anonymous wrote: > > The "Not-News Gorilla NutWork" was rocket-launched in the Mohave Desert > > early yesterday morning by a rag-tag bunch of paramilitarist computer > > gurus who unveiled an InterNet Bill of Bytes that included the words, > > "MicroSoft shall make no laws..." Steven Vonder Haar wrote, the very next day: > Microsoft Corp. has tabled plans to include new technology in its > Internet Explorer 4.0 browser that would have made "news" oriented > sites exempt from content rating standards promoted for use on the > Internet. >Anonymous wrote: > > Angered by a self-appointed council of computer industry magnates who > > have announced their intention to seize fascist control of the quickly > > burgeoning Information Highway by controlling the definition of all > > information, the rebels set up a shooting range which contained a wide > > variety of targets ranging from copies of the Wall Street Journal to > > life-sized cardboard cut-outs of a hooded figure referred to only as, > > "a billionaire to be named later." Steven Vonder Haar wrote, the very next day: > RSAC President C. Dianne Martin said Microsoft is running out of time > to implement the separate designation for news sites before the launch > of the 4.0 version of Explorer later this year. >Anonymous wrote: > > "We have decided on two classes of ratings." explained a tassel- > > haired young woman as she slid shells into a Winchester Defender > > sitting on her lap. "On..." she said, lifting the shotgun with one > > hand, then liberating the hooded head from a nearby cardboard cut-out, > > before turning back to say, with a Cheshire grin, "...and off." Steven Vonder Haar wrote, the very next day: > However, the company > plans to include the news designation in the 5.0 version of Explorer > when it is made available..."likely sometime next year." There wasn't much doubt that 'Nobody' was pointing out to one and all that the Internet Content Coalition was under siege, and that the opening salvo by 'Anonymous' had brought the largest corporation in history to its knees, in surrender. A bold claim, but would this declaration of war in the battle of the giants to seize control of the official reigns of news and information on the InterNet be backed up in the end, by across the board results? A Player To Be Named Later pored over a FreeAmerica report on the resurrection of the Inslaw ghosts in the mid-1990's. Federal Corruption INSLAW Copyright FreeAmerica and Harry V. Martin, 1995 Congressman Jack Brooks of Texas has opened a new investigation into the INSLAW case. Brooks is investigating allegations that Justice Department officials, including Meese, conspired to force INSLAW into bankruptcy in order to deliver the firm's software to a rival company. The rival firm, according to court records and law enforcement officials, was headed by Earl W. Brian, a former Cabinet officer under then California Governor Ronald Reagan and a longtime friend of several high-ranking Republican officials. [Earl W. Brian! Who had seized control of United Press International (UPI) in a deal every bit as shady as the Inslaw affair] On March 21, 1992, [Michael] Riconoscuito stated in an affidavit to the Court and Congress, and before he was arrested, the following: * During the 1980s he served as the Director of Research for a joint venture between the Wackenhut Corporation of Coral Gables, Florida, and the Cabazon Band of Indians of Indio, California. The joint venture was located on the Cabazon reservation. [Near the Salton Sea, a long-time haunt of the Author, who brought a strange variety of computer gurus to the area, purportedly for Corvina fishing, but what was the real story about their travels there?] * The Wackenhut-Cabazon joint venture sought to develop and/or manufacture certain materials that are used in military and national security operations, including night vision goggles, machine guns, fuel- air explosives, and biological and chemical warfare weapons. * The Wackenhut-Cabazon joint venture was intended to support the needs of a number of FOREIGN governments and forces, including forces and governments in Central America and the Middle East. The Contras in Nicaragua represented one of the most important priorities for the joint venture. * The Wackenhut-Cabazon joint venture maintained close liaison with 'certain elements' of the United States Government, including representatives of intelligence, military and law enforcement agencies. * Among the frequent visitors to the Wackenhut-Cabazon joint venture were Peter Videnieks of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and a close associate of Videnieks by the name of Earl W. Brian. Brian is a private businessman who lives in Maryland and who has maintained close business ties with the U.S. intelligence community for many years. * The purpose of the PROMIS software modification that I made in 1983 and 1984 was to support a plan for the implementation of PROMIS in law enforcement and intelligence agencies worldwide. Earl W. Brian was spearheading the plan for this worldwide use of the PROMIS computer software. * Some of the modifications that I made were specifically designed to facilitate the implementation of PROMIS within two agencies of the Government of Canada: the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS). Earl W. Brian would check with me from time to time to make certain that the work would be completed in time to satisfy the schedule for the RCMP and CSIS implementations of PROMIS. [The RCMP and CSISthe same entities that the Author had shared a Russian language class with in Regina, Saskatchewan, just before the Moscow Olympics. Who had he encountered in that group who would later be instrumental in acquiring the PROMIS software for the Canadians?] * The propriety version of PROMIS, as modified by me, was, in fact implemented in both the RCMP and the CSIS in Canada. It was my understanding that Earl W. Brian had sold this version of PROMIS to the Government of Canada. A Player To Be Named Later suddenly remembered the email to the CypherPunks mailing list and the corporate headquarters of the Internet Content Coalition that had been forwarded from the LMBoyd Website, which was known to be a forum for the Circle of Eunuchs to send veiled messages to set the stage for their more pointed attacks on the Dark Forces. It was an email that was sent out when the dark specter of the Internet Content Coalition first began to flex their muscles. >From - Fri Jul 25 19:38:14 1997 Subject: Sampler: July 25 To: multiple recipients of <sampler(a)lmboyd.com> ====================================================== The serial killer does in one person at a time in intervals. The mass killer murders however many in a single mad rampage. The mass killer is usually suicidal. The serial killer isn't. Q. Does any animal deliberately stalk human beings for food? A. None but the polar bear. At least, such is the claim of the experts. ====================================================== LMBoyd Web Site / U. S. Newspapers / Start Email / Stop Email http://www.LMBoyd.com/postscript.htm "Of course!" A Player To Be Named Later slapped his forehead, amazed that he had not seen the connection sooner between the 'mass murderer, serial killer stalking humans from the North' email, the Not-News threat singling out "a billionaire to be named later," and the email sent to the Internet Content Coalition players just before they held the meeting where they effectively folded their hand in their attempt to take over control over defining what was 'official' news on the InterNet, and what was not. He reread, once again, the anonymous post sent just hours before the Internet Content Coalition's grand agenda bit the dust: "In July, Anson Ng, a reporter for the Financial Times of London was shot and KILLED in Guatemala. He had reportedly been trying to interview an American there named Jimmy Hughes, a one-time director of security for the Cabazon Indian Reservation secret projects. "In April, a Philadelphia attorney named Dennis Eisman was found DEAD, killed by a single bullet in his chest. According to a former federal official who worked with Eisman, the attorney was found dead in the parking lot where he had been due to meet with a woman who had crucial evidence to share substantiating Riconosciuto's claims. "Both Eisman's and Ng's deaths were declared 'suicides' by authorities. "Fred Alvarez, a Cabazon tribal leader who was in vocal opposition to the developments on the reservation, was found SHOT TO DEATH WITH TWO FRIENDS in 1981. Their murder remains unsolved. At last, the whole bizarre, implausible scenario finally came together in A Player To Be Named Later's mind. The Author's presence near the belly of the beast in Indio had not been a mere coincidence. When the Internet Content Coalition made their move, the Circle of Eunuchs already had the information they needed to connect several of the players in the proposed news cartel with the trail of deaths surrounding both those involved in the INSLAW debacle and the reporters closing in on the real story involved. And they had made it more than plain that some of those involved in the Wackenhut-Cabazon arms deals were now playing for the oppositionand that bullets don't discriminate between the rich and the poor. A Player To Be Named Later was still mystified as to how the Magic Circle had been able to pull off such a bold, in-your-face maneuver on some of the Titans of the news and computer industries. In the early days, after the dissemination of "The Xenix Chainsaw Massacre" had begun in 1989, the Circle of Eunuchs had come under fierce attack from a variety of sources from within the secret government hunting them. Mysterious deaths, established careers going up in flames, overnight. The Magic Circle had quickly disappeared far into the underground of computer society. Then, the Circle had begun to show their hand, more and more, now reaching the point where they could apparently do battle with the heavyweights working behind the scenes with Gomez and the Dark Allies. But A Player To Be Named Later hadn't seen any indication that the Circle of Eunuchs had managed to gain possession of a hole-card that could account forunless "Casolaro!" A Player To Be Named Later whispered, as if speaking the name aloud might bring down fire from the heavens. Quickly, he did a disk search for a vaguely remembered article from Conspiracy Nation Forwarded: >From the Patriot Archives ftp site at: ftp://tezcat.com/patriot Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 3 Num. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ("Quid coniuratio est?") THE OCTOPUS =========== By Karen Bixman (For The People *News Reporter*, 11/14/94) On the morning of August 11, 1991, Danny Casolaro was found dead in the bathroom of his hotel room at the Sheraton Hotel in Martinsburg, West Virginia. His wrists had been slashed ten times; his briefcase and notes were missing. The authorities labeled the death a suicide, and before Casolaro's family had been contacted, the body was embalmed. ----------------------------------------------------------------- If you would like "Conspiracy Nation" sent to your e-mail address, send a message in the form "subscribe conspire My Name" to listproc(a)prairienet.org -- To cancel, send a message in the form "unsubscribe conspire" to listproc(a)prairienet.org but with absolutely nothing in the subject line of the message. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Damn! He had nailed it! Karen Bixman's article had confirmed everything that A Player To Be Named Later had increasingly suspected as his mind pored over the mountain of information which had seemed so tentatively, but treacherously, related. Bixman had laid down an utterly astounding, twisted trail of closely connected, mysterious deaths and blatant murders surrounding the INSLAW and Iran-Contra misdeeds that completed the connections between the past and current players in the battle for control of world supremacy in computer information and communications. What's more, the timing of the disappearance of Danny Casolaro's extensive notes on the winding serpent of evil surrounding these affairs coincided with the Magic Circle's unmistakable reentry into manifest participation in the battle against the Evil One and the Dark Forces under his command. The Coupe de Gras, however, was the source of the Conspiracy Nation newsletter. Prairienet.org! From whence sprang the apparently unrelated Bureau42 clique who had seized the opportunity to host 'The True Story of the InterNet' transcripts, despite the troubled and bloody history of those who had done so in the past. Bianca had mentioned to Mike Denney, at Basis Inc., that she had been prepared to hack the Bureau42 servers when they came under attack upon placing 'Part II' and 'Part III' on their system, but that they had managed to clear up the problems that developed on their own, and had done so in a surprisingly short period of time. Only one thing was still bothering A Player To Be Named Later. Microsoft had been the first member of the Internet Content Coalition to publicly fold their hand in the battle to control news and information ratings across the InterNet, but Gates seemed, on the surface, to be less visibly connected to the extremely messy past misconduct of the others, and thus seemed to have the least to lose if the shit hit the fan. Gate's quick concession to the veiled threats had definitely been the catalyst in causing the hasty retreat of the other members of the news cartel that had seemed to be on the drawing board for quite some time in the plans of Gomez and the Dark Alliesbut why? Bill Gates had not become the richest and most overtly powerful individual on the face of the earth by fighting against the grand designs of the Evil One, but he seemed to be playing his cards close to his chest, in a manner that suggested that he had an agenda of his own that might not run exactly parallel to that of the Dark Forces. What was BillyG's game? A Player To Be Named Later had been involved in the grand battle taking place behind the scenes of everyday reality for long enough to know that it was all done with mirrors. "And each man, in his time, plays many parts." he said, perplexed for the moment. "To Shakespeare!" A Player To Be Named Later said, lifting his glass in toast. "A member of the Magic Circle, if there ever was one." "If there ever was one" he repeated, smiling at his unintentional inside joke. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Shadow was watching Bad BillyG closely, for any sign of subterfuge in his inner demeanor. "You're certain about Blanc Weber?" he asked, once again. "Well, I could be wrong, but we've investigated her thoroughly, and every indication is that all that nonsense about her development of the HydroCube is just that-nonsense." BillyG shrugged his shoulders, apparently unconcerned with what he regarded as a small, internal company matter. "I could have her isolated, but I don't really see much point. If she is hiding something, then it's probably better not to let her know how closely she is being monitored. Perhaps you should put some of the Dark Allies on her tail for a while, in case there is something that my people have missed." "No, I don't think that will be necessary." the Shadow replied, casually. He had instructed his men to monitor Blanc Weber's movements and activities months ago, as well as those of the spooks Bad BillyG had assigned to watch her. His own spooks had likewise turned up nothing positive, but he had pressed the matter with Gates in order to judge his reaction just the same. "Well, her digital implant went according to plan," BillyG added, "so we will be able to yank her chain on a moment's notice, if it becomes necessary to do so, in the future." The "billionaire to be named later" sat back and allowed himself to indulge in the luxury of looking forward to the moment when A Player To Be Named Later would find out much, much more than he really wanted to know about Bad BillyG's plans for the tattered remnants of the Magic Circle who were attempting to interfere with his own vision of the direction the future of the InterNet should take at this nadir point in time, when the battle for control of virtual reality was about to explode into every single facet of human life ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bubba Rom Dos thought about the forefather of his technical namesake, who had so far managed to walk with the Evil One as far as the bridge in his rise to riches, fame and power a hundred years in the past. The Cowboy, Priscilla, Alexis, Jonathan, and d'Shauneaux were likewise joined with him in contemplation of this paradoxical figure from the past whose role in the great battle between the Forces of Light and the Forces of Darkness had remained an enigma throughout the history and legends of the Circle of Eunuchs. Friend or foe, there was no denying that Billy the Kid was going to play a major role in the direction that the thundering train of history was about to take as it approached the crossroads of destiny on its way to an ElectroMagnetic Future where freedom would hinge on the free flow of Taoist bytes routing around the enslaving chains of Fascist bits that Gomez and the Dark Allies had been carefully laying in place since the dawn of the Computer Era. Bubba Rom Dos, sage and savant, deviant and derelict, raised a glass of "Bubba's Special Reserve" in toast, proclaiming as the tattered remnants of the Magic Circle joined him in his libations, "To Billy the Kidor Bad BillyGto the things that he didor to what he may be" The Trei Transponder began softly humming in the background, as if trying to tell the small assembly something very, very important for them to know. Then it fell silent Copyright "Anonymous TruthMonger <billg(a)microsoft.com>" "That's not a government backdoor <bug>. It's a hacker's backdoor <feature>." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Xenix Chainsaw Massacre" "WebWorld & the Mythical Circle of Eunuchs" "InfoWar (Part III of 'The True Story of the InterNet') Soviet Union Sickle of Eunuchs Secret WebSite ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Re: The CipherSaber Manifesto
by Antonomasia 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

reinhold(a)world.std.com (Arnold Reinhold) wrote: > CipherSaber-1 (CS1) uses Ron Rivest's RC4 algorithm as published in > the second edition of Bruce Schneier's Applied Cryptography. .... > CipherSaber-1 is a symmetric-key file encryption system. Messaging > takes place by attaching binary files to e-mail. Because CipherSaber > uses a stream cipher, an initialization vector must be used to prevent > the same cipher key from being used twice. In encrypted CipherSaber-1 > files, a ten byte initialization vector precedes the coded data. For > decryption, the initialization vector is read from the file and > appended to the user key before the key setup step. ...... Why not _prepend_ the IV to the key ? As described here any paranoics who use keys > 255 chars won't get the IV in place, and will lose out. I think I'd also force 4 bytes of the IV to be the current time, as a defence against the (P?)RNG getting me a repeated IV eventually. -- ############################################################## # Antonomasia ant(a)notatla.demon.co.uk # # See http://www.notatla.demon.co.uk/ # ##############################################################

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Update from the House Commerce Committee hearing room
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I'm sitting on the steps of the Rayburn House office building right now waiting for the committee to resume deliberations on the SAFE encryption bill. They've adjourned to vote on unrelated legislation on the House floor. Right now it seems as though votes are split between Rep. White's "compromise" legislation (that includes a cash payoff to the FBI and doubling of crypto-in-a-crime penalties while relaxing some export rules) and Rep. Oxley's proposal that includes domestic controls on encryption. If I had to bet, though, I'd put my money on Oxley. Law enforcement arguments about pedophiles generally trump discussions of privacy rights. If White's proposal fails and Oxley's goes through, industry groups are hoping they can keep themselves from being entirely screwed by pushing through a third amendment that apparently would replace SAFE entirely with a five-month study. (But who would appoint the people conducting the study? Law enforcement? It's unclear.) Rep. Solomon, chair of the powerful House Rules committee -- through which SAFE must pass before it gets to the floor -- earlier today circulated a letter asking members to support the Oxley amendment. "If this language is not incorporated into the bill, as the Chairman of the House Rules Committee I will not move the bill to the floor!" it says. FBI director Louis Freeh, DEO head Thomas Constantine, and Raymond Kelley (undersecretary for enforcement, Treasury Department) also sent a letter earlier today to the Commerce Committee endorsing Oxley's amendment "on behalf of the entire law enforcement community." They don't seem to be exaggerating. The International Association of Chiefs of Police on September 22 said just that. So did the National Sherrifs' Association yesterday. And the National District Attorneys Association on September 19. And the Major Cities Chiefs on September 23. Plus a few state police associations. More soon... -Declan ------------------------- Declan McCullagh Time Inc. The Netly News Network Washington Correspondent http://netlynews.com/

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Congress & Crypto: "No compromise" coalition letter
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

[This "no compromise" letter from ACLU, Eagle Forum, and other groups is especially important since it's likely that industry groups may sign on to compromise legislation. Also attached is a Reuters piece on Freeh's news conference this morning and an excerpt from an E.C. official's talk also this morning at the National Press Club. --Declan] ************** An Open Letter to Members of the House Commerce Committee September 24, 1997 No Domestic Controls, No Compromise on Privacy Protection by Encryption We write this letter to urge you to oppose the Oxley-Manton amendment to H.R. 695, the Security and Freedom through Encryption (SAFE) Act. While our organizations sometime disagree emphatically with each other, we are all united in asking you to oppose any and all attempts to limit the right of all Americans to get and use whatever encryption protection we want. Specifically included among the proposals we urge you to oppose are provisions like those found in the amendments to H.R. 695 proposed by the FBI draft, the Intelligence Committee, and the National Security Committee, and in the McCain-Kerrey bill (S. 909) in the Senate. We also urge you to oppose as well any proposal establishing a legal structure for key recovery even if temporarily "voluntary," any so-called "compromise" provision drawn from Oxley-Manton or the other specified proposal, and any new proposal that would limit the availability and use of strong encryption. Representatives of our organizations have already informed Congress of our vigorous opposition to any anti-encryption legislation. We take this opportunity to underscore four key points. OXLEY-MANTON ATTACKS THE WAY ORDINARY AMERICANS USE ENCRYPTION. Without realizing it, ordinary Americans already use encryption in their everyday lives. Cordless and cellular phones, and every digital phone system uses encryption to protect privacy. Oxley-Manton would require a backdoor breech in encryption security distributed, manufactured or sold after January 31, 2000. Online browsers for the Internet also use encryption, with a similar backdoor breech in security required by Oxley-Manton. Every computer that uses encryption ñ sometimes with just a keystroke ñ to protect the contents of sensitive medical, legal, religious counseling and other files would be subject to the same Oxley-Manton backdoor breech in security. OXLEY-MANTON INCREASES THE LIKELIHOOD OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. The Oxley-Manton amendment and the other proposals would compel encryption programs to contain a "backdoor" for law enforcement either by establishing a regime to recover the keys to the scrambled message or by providing immediate decoding of the message. The governments own experts, however, conclude that the backdoor cannot be limited to law enforcement. Instead, the backdoor makes the encryption protection vulnerable to attack by prying neighbors, business competitors, private investigators, and others who want to profit from illicitly gained information. (See the May 1996 report of the National Research Council.) A mother, for example, arranging to pick up her child at day care ought not have the safety of those arrangements jeopardized by the Oxley-Manton backdoor breech in security. OXLEY-MANTON IGNORES THE FACT THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT IS NOT PERFECT. The Oxley-Manton amendment and the other proposals neglect the fact that law enforcement agencies are human institutions with some of their people subject to the frailties common to human nature ñ prejudice, avarice, arrogance and abuse of power. We need only to recall the documented abuses of federal agents at Ruby Ridge, in Filegate, in surveilling civil rights and religious leaders, in harassing honest taxpayers and law-abiding businesses ñ as well as those established instances of police abuse at the local level ñ to understand that placing unprecedented power in the hands of law enforcement to violate the peopleís privacy is extremely dangerous. OXLEY-MANTON MAKES ORDINARY AMERICANS THE SERVANTS OF THE STATE. At the core of American political values is the fundamental concept that individual Americans have certain rights and that governments are instituted, in the words of the Declaration of Independence, "to secure these rights." As a free people, Americans are the masters -- not the servants -- of the state. Indeed, our constitutional system is founded on the principle that the people have certain rights that cannot be violated. The Oxley-Manton amendment and the other proposals reverse this relationship, making the governmentís appetite for spying on its citizens the number one priority while requiring that ordinary Americans constrict their lives, the protection for their families and businesses, in order to accommodate government surveillance. In doing so, the Oxley-Manton amendment and the other proposals betray the essential values of our democracy. CONCLUSION We urge you to stand up for the privacy and security of Americans by opposing any and all of the provisions of the Oxley-Manton amendment, the other amendments cited, the McCain-Kerrey bill and any provision requiring or fostering the development of a key recovery regime even if presented initially as "voluntary." We also urge you to reject any so-called "compromise" based in whole or part on these proposals. Finally, we urge the removal of the criminalization provision in H.R. 695, the SAFE bill. Sincerely, American Civil Liberties Union Americans for Tax Reform Eagle Forum Electronic Privacy Information Center Privacy International United States Privacy Council For more information, please contact: Donald Haines, Legislative Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union, 202/675-2322; privaclu(a)aol.com. James P. Lucier, Jr., Director of Economic Research, Americans for Tax Reform, 202/785-0266; lucier(a)atr.org. Kris Ardizzone, Executive Director, Eagle Forum, 202/544-0353; eagleforum(a)aol.com David Sobel, Legal Counsel, Electronic Privacy Information Center, 202/544-9240; sobel(a)epic.org. === [An example of how hard the FBI is pressing encryption in the last few hours before today's vote. This news conference was at 10:30 am today. --Declan] WASHINGTON (AP) - Armed with a sealed indictment, U.S. officials stepped up the pressure today on Mexico's most violent drug kingpin by offering a $2 million reward and adding him to the FBI's most wanted list. Ramon Arellano Felix, 33, the head of security for a gang run by five brothers, is charged with drug conspiracy and smuggling in a sealed federal indictment in San Diego, FBI Director Louis J. Freeh told a news conference. [...] Freeh used the news conference to push legislation, now before a House committee, giving his agents access to the keys to commercial encryption devices and software used to scramble telephone conversations and computer transmissions. "If a workable national solution to the encryption problem is not enacted soon," Freeh said, "we simply will loose our most effective tool with respect to drug interdiction." Constantine said in the last 18 months Mexican gangs have increasingly used encryption, "purchased off the shelf" in the United States, that is capable of shielding their communications from most law enforcement eavesdropping. "If their encryption succeeds, we would never be able to find out who is in charge of these organizations," Constantine said. [...] === NATIONAL PRESS CLUB MORNING NEWSMAKER SIR LEON BRITTAN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION NATIONAL PRESS CLUB WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1997 Q On the electronic commerce issue, is there a likelihood there will be a common position on encryption controls of exports, imports? SIR LEON: Well, all of these things are currently the subject of discussion, and I think it's premature to say where it will end up. === ------------------------- Declan McCullagh Time Inc. The Netly News Network Washington Correspondent http://netlynews.com/

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Remailers (was Re: The problem of playing politics with our constitutional rights)
by phelix＠vallnet.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On 24 Sep 1997 21:11:07 -0500, Eric Nystrom <enystrom(a)nscee.edu> wrote: >-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > >On Wed, 24 Sep 1997 phelix(a)vallnet.com wrote: > >> >>remailer could automatically announce itself to the world (perhaps via a >> >>newsgroup post). The various listing services would pick up on this. The >> >>more automated it is, the better. >> > >> >How about posting availability notices alt.remailer-availability.announce >> >(create it if necessary) or alt.anonymous.messages? >> >> Yes, I was thinking along these lines, though right now I'm concentrating >> on the client end of things. > >I'm not sure that Usenet would necessarily be the best idea for a primary >source of remailer availability notices. After all, the latency >associated with Usenet might be a problem. That's a problem only if we expect remailers to stay up only for a few days at a time. I'm sure such guerilla remailers will exist, but will they be the dominant type of remailers? > And more to the point, some of >us have a problem reaching a news server. On a company LAN connected to >the Internet, for example, any and every J. Random Eudora-user could or >would become a remailer. (You could have 10 or 50 or more remailers per >organization -- enough that it would be difficult for the sysadmins to >squash them all.) But most companies do not allow access to a news >server. I suspect that a company that didn't allow access to a news server would also not allow you to run a remailer behind their firewall. > A client could telnet out to someplace in the outside world to >announce its presence or whatever, but not post to or read from Usenet. But then we're back to the problem of having a centralized service that can be attacked. I suppose it's unavoidable. Let's hope we at least have many different pinging services. >I think Usenet would serve an important role as a secondary, backup source >of information that would support and mirror the pinging services. But >to have Usenet as the only source of remailer availablility might be a >little short-sighted. I just had a thought. Run a pinging service through the eternity servers. Anyway, in private email, the thought of digital postage stamps has come up. Are there any ecash system that offer total payer anonymity (payee anonymity is not absolutely necessary here)?

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InfoWar 21 (Part III of 'The True Story of the InterNet')
by Bubba Rom Dos 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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InfoWar 21 / The GeigerBurg Text
by Bubba Rom Dos 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The True Story of the InterNet Part III InfoWar Final Frontier of the Digital Revolution Behind the ElectroMagnetic Curtain by TruthMonger <tm(a)dev.null> Copyright 1997 Pearl Publishing ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- InfoWar Table of Contents * Lying Fucking Nazi Cunt Sex Criminal ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lying Fucking Nazi Cunt Sex Criminal ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "This has got to stop!" the crimson-faced man threw the printout on the desk of the Sex Criminal. The Sex Criminal, as usual, just laughed and tried to make light of the situation. "Well, at least Lying Fuck is better than Lying Nazi Cunt." the Sex Criminal winced as the woman Senator walked into the room just as the words were coming out of his mouth. The Nazi Cunt shot the Sex Criminal a stare that took the heat out of even his easily excitable loins. The post she had in her hand was even more to the point than the one that the Lying Fuck had thrown on the Sex Criminal's desk. She handed it to the Lying Fuck with a chagrined grin, saying, "Why don't you read it first, Mr. Freeh-dumb!" The Sex Criminal began to chuckle, but stopped quickly when the FBI Director shot him a stare that was colder than even the Nazi Cunt's withering look. The Lying Fuck then turned his attention to the email that the Nazi Cunt had received, along with a few hundred other Senators and Congressmen shortly before the vote on the ultra-fascist Oxley Amendment to the dictatorial SAFE bill being pushed in the House Commerce Committee. To: senator(a)feinstein.senate.gov From: HugeCajones Remailer<hc(a)dev.null> X-Mailer: WinSock Remailer Version ALPHA1.3B X-Comments: - X-Comments: "He who shits on the road, will meet flies upon his return." X-Comments: - X-Comments: "GOMEZ IS COMING!" X-Comments: - X-Comments: This message is NOT from TruthMonster. X-Comments: It was sent by an automated anonymous asshole under the X-Comments: auspices of the Electronic Forgery Foundation. X-Comments: - X-Comments: Note: Send any complaints about abuse of this remailer X-Comments: to the person most concerned about your rights and X-Comments: freedoms. (Hint: It's a "mirror" site.) Subject: !!! DEATH THREAT !!! You should be careful before you do foolish things like making a death threat because it can have really bad results. People like the Constitution a lot and if you are making a death threat against it then it is like saying your going to kill someone else's friend or family and everyone knows that they will kill you because they are domestic and not a stranger. Or is it that they are stranger and not domesticated? Never mind. You know what I mean. "Damn!" the Lying Fuck swore with a vengeance, "It's the fucking nephew, again." He began to pace the floor, angry that he had been boxed into a corner where taking strong action in response to this post would involve sending a swat team into an allied foreign country to arrest a fourteen year-old kid. A cute kid, nonetheless. A cute Christian kid. He shook his head slowly, as if in pain, as he continued to read the kid's continuing diatribe against encryption opponents. Especially if you try to make it so that they cannot put aluminum foil hats on their thoughts and their words and their writing. Then they get really, really, nervous and maybe start thinking that they have to kill everybody because they are not safe from anybody. You should be careful before you vote to kill the Constitution and look under all your chairs and stuff, just in case. The Sex Criminal was reading the same passage, and he looked up at the FBI Director, asking, "Isn't that a threat? Can't we do something about that?" He looked to the Nazi Cunt for support "Jesus, Bill!" the Nazi Cunt said, rolling her eyes upward. "You want to send the fucking Marines up to bring back a Canadian teenager in leg-irons so that he can remind our citizens that we have a constitution? Give it a break." Freeh continued to read the email. Even if you do think you can kill the Constitution and still have all of the people believe you are not a bad person then you should at least try not to let really stupid people who you work with say things like "I am too stupid to learn about this stuff so I am going to let the guys who want to make aluminum foil hats illegal and put everyone in jail decide how I vote to kill the Constitution." The one those guys who always say "Nuke DC" call Swinestein said that and it made everyone think you are all that stupid and going to let people with guns who kill women and children make your votes for you. Then even more of them say "Nuke DC" especially when they remember how bad the guys with the guns that you are letting vote for you fucked their friend (sorry but thats what they did) for making a stink with the IRS. The Lying Fuck couldn't help himself-he burst out laughing, with the Sex Criminal following close behind. He caught her frigid stare and said, "You said it, not me" "Swinestein." he half-mumbled under his breath. "I heard that, you bastard!" the Nazi Cunt screamed, turning and stomping out of the room in a great huff. If you take away some of the guns from people then you have to take away all the guns or you are in big trouble. If you take away some of the Constitution from people then you have to take away all of the Constitution or you are in big trouble. Even if you think you took away all of the things that people can use to be safe and free then they will make more-like Doritos. If you try to kill them with bullshit then they will try to kill you with their own brand of fertilizer. If you take away their aluminum foil hats then they will make hats out of paper and call them Forever Young. The FBI Director recognized the veiled reference to the Eternity Servers. He made a mental note to himself to begin action against them as soon as possible. He could make it a side-project of the agents working against the anonymous remailer operators. That reminded himhadn't they already killed off the Huge Cajones Remailer? He needed to check that out, ASAP. Killing the Constitution is a lot like killing DC-if your going to do it then you might as well do it right and do it all at once. Guys with guns who want to kill Freeh-dumb know that and so do guys with nukes who are Freeh-dumb fighters. (My uncle made up a new word about him-he said he "testiLied to Congress.") "Cocksucker!" the Lying Fuck banged his fist on the Sex Criminal's desk. "This fucker is dead!" he screamed, beginning to lose control, and throwing the email on the floor, stomping on it with one foot, and then the other. The Sex Criminal continued to read the end of the post. Don't be a stranger, APlayerToBeNamedLater p.s. - If you see Declan McCullagh getting in his car and driving like hell away from the city then you should get in your car and do the same thing. You dont need to pack a suitcase because I think if he does that then there is already one packed. (Thats what the guys with guns told you in your secret meetings so you will kill the Constitution for them isnt it?) The Sex Criminal looked puzzled. "How do these people get this information?" he naively asked his head bonecrusher. The Lying Fuck was getting tired of explaining the obvious to this fucking idiot, but he took relief in the fact that now the Line Item Veto had been passed, they could dump these liberal shills off at the next election stop and bring in an Aryan thoroughbred to make the Run for the Roses at the turn of the millennium. "We know we're going to do it. They know we're going to do it. The nuclear suitcase argument was Oxley's hole card, but this fucking email took the steam out of his argument by ridiculing it before it was even presented." "Fucking cypherpunks!" the Lying Fuck spit the word out, as the Sex Criminal handed him a printout of a news article that would be appearing in print the following day. Encryption Bill Gets Approval Of House Panel By CHRIS DiEDOARDO San Diego Daily Transcript, Sept. 24, 1997 The 40-11 vote late Wednesday in the House Commerce Committee could sound the death knell to FBI Director Louis J. Freeh's attempt to require software companies to install a "back door" in their security packages in order make them more accessible to law enforcement officials. "In closed session, the FBI said they don't have a problem with encryption in foreign markets, as they have the ability to use the military to decrypt the messages," Bilbray said, adding the agency didn't have that capability domestically. "God damn it!" the bonecrusher's temperature was rising, once again. "What the fuck good is a 'closed session' when everything we tell these dweebs gets printed before we get out of the goddamn building. "The press breaks the stories about our spreading bad replacement parts into foreign weapons systems, and the next thing you know, we have planes falling out of the fucking sky faster than we can count. Now we have to try to keep other countries in line with our weak encryption policy at the same time we're confirming that we can read their fucking minds and want to keep it that way." He shook his head in disgust, and continued reading the article. Early reaction from within the encryption industry was mixed. While John Kelsey of Counterpane Systems in Jefferson City, Mo., thought the Markey-White package was better than the alternatives, he said there was still a long way to go. "The best thing they could do is get rid of the export controls and otherwise not interfere by trying to regulate this technology," he said. "The FBI should be pushing for all Americans to use strong crypto, as cryptology makes crime harder." "When you encrypt credit-card numbers, that makes it a lot harder to commit credit card fraud," Kelsey said. "In fact, properly designed payment protocols make it very difficult for people to steal money from the system or frame other people." "What happens is the law-abiding citizens are constantly being encroached on for the convenience of us in government." "Intuitively, it seems like a bad idea to build a large infrastructure for eavesdropping on the American people," he said. "That's not a decision people should make without spending a lot of time thinking about whether we're comfortable doing that, as we'd be building the infrastructure for a police state." "Fucking cypherpunks!" the Lying Fuck said again, recognizing Kelsey's name. "Fucking cypherpunks!" the Sex Criminal echoed. The FBI Director sat silently steaming, making quick and hard decisions as to how to proceed with his agenda of total information control. Time to start hitting the hardware vendors hard, again, shaking the trees for those who would be the quickest to fold to the NSA's plans for hardwired monitoring and back doors into all aspects of computer systems, including encryption. He took his pen and circled the name 'Intel' on his game plan cheat-sheet. "Hit them hard and hit them everywhere." he said to himself. It was long past time to bother with the pretension of friendly discussion. He had gone past the point of no return with the announcement of his intention to gain law enforcement access to all aspects of corporate and private communications, the Constitution be damned, and he was not about to turn back now. Not on your life Copyright "TruthMangler <president(a)whitehouse.gov>" "I stuck my head between her cheeks, but I didn't inhale." ~ Marv Alpert ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Xenix Chainsaw Massacre" "WebWorld & the Mythical Circle of Eunuchs" "InfoWar (Part III of 'The True Story of the InterNet') Soviet Union Sickle of Eunuchs Secret WebSite ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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SAFE = Security and Fascism through Escrow
by Tim May 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

As our Big Brothers in D.C. continue to abuse the language by taking SAFE in a direction 180 degrees from the original intentions, it seems only fair that we rename the bill the Security and Fascism through Escrow Bill. --Tim May The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, ComSec 3DES: 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^1398269 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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National ID as Identity Authentication answer for EC?
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Evidently these idiots haven't heard of digital bearer certificates... Cheers, Bob Hettinga --- begin forwarded text X-Sender: rhornbec(a)counselpop.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 05:22:13 -0500 Reply-To: Digital Signature discussion <DIGSIG(a)VM.TEMPLE.EDU> Sender: Digital Signature discussion <DIGSIG(a)VM.TEMPLE.EDU> From: Rick Hornbeck <rhornbec(a)COUNSEL.COM> Subject: National ID as Identity Authentication answer for EC? To: DIGSIG(a)VM.TEMPLE.EDU An interesting article by Thomas P. Vartanian appeared in the September 24 issue of the American Banker discussing the increasing need for identity authentication in electronic commerce and the use of National ID Verification Standards (NIVS) as a possible solution. Although the article avoids proposing specific ultimate sources of identity it does mention that "the adoption of these standards might facilitate the development of a national market for certificate authority errors-and-omissions insurance. It might also facilitate the creation and operation of what one observer has called 'cybernotaries.' Without uniformity in the authentication process, the efficiencies of certificates and the effectiveness of electronic commerce will be undercut." Following is a brief excerpt. Complete article available at: http://www.jya.com/national-id.htm ==================== 24 September 1997 Source: The American Banker --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comment/ The Case for National ID Verification Standards By Thomas P. Vartanian Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson Financial fraud depends heavily on perpetrators' ability to hide their identities or assume those of others. Because the Internet is a medium for anonymous communication, it has been and will continue to be a breeding ground for innovation in electronic fraud. Proponents of electronic commerce seek to limit this risk through the use of digital certificates and similar methods of electronic authentication and verification. This raises a complex question for the trusted third parties, many of which may be banks, that certify the issuance and use of public keys in the digital signature arena: What does it mean to certify that a specific public key represents X in a world where the identification of X is an imprecise science? Authentication must be the starting point in any electronic network transaction. Lacking the customary modes of physical identification, the parties to a faceless transaction in cyberspace need proof from a third party that each party is who he or she purports to be. --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah(a)shipwright.com) Philodox e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' The e$ Home Page: http://www.shipwright.com/

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Domain name hearings starting right now. (www.democracy.net)
by Shabbir J. Safdar 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The domain name hearings are going on right now (you can listen in realaudio) at http://www.democracy.net/ The future of the infrastructure hangs in the balance of this debate. Check it out. -S

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