December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

CP Bust or Buyout?
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Not much from the West Coast since the C2-CP meet on Saturday. Were they all busted, or fragged, or has the underground mole hole at last been taken? What, C2 shanghai-ed them all, with irrefusable bucks galore to securely distribute porn, NDA$ accomplishing what TLAs couldn't.

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Cybersitter censors code
by David Honig 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>--------------- Forwarded Message -------------- >From: rpj(a)ise.canberra.edu.au (Ross Johnson) > >Well, I just spent several hours tracking something down that I think >is SO braindead that it must be called evil. I hope this will save >someone else some hassle. > >There's an NT box on my desk that someone else uses every now and then. >This machine is otherwise used as my programming box and backup server. > >All of a sudden, my programming files were being corrupted in odd >places. I thought "hmm, my copy must be corrupt". So I refreshed the >files. No change. "hmm, the code depot copy must be corrupt".. Checked >from other machines. No problem there. Viewed the file from a web based >change browser in Internet Explorer. Same corruption in the file. >Telnet'd to the server machine and just cat'd the file to the terminal. >Same problem. > >What's going on? > >The lines that were corrupted were of the form >#define one 1 /* foo menu */ >#define two 2 /* bar baz */ > >What I always saw ON THIS MACHINE ONLY was: >#define one 1 /* foo */ ># fine two 2 /* bar baz */ > >Can you guess what was happening? > >Turns out, someone had inadvertly installed this piece of garbage >called CyberSitter, which purports to protect you from nasty internet >content. Turns out that it does this by patching the TCP drivers and >watching the data flow over EVERY TCP STREAM. Can you spot the offense >word in my example? It's "NUDE". Seems that cybersitter doesn't care if >there are other characters in between. So it blanks out "nu */ #de" >without blanking out the punctuation and line breaks. Very strange and >stupid. > >It also didn't like the method name "RefreshItems" in another file, >since there is obviously a swear word embedded in there. Sheesh. > >It's so bad it's almost funny. Hope this brightens your day as much as >it brighted mine :-). ------------------------------------------------------------ David Honig Orbit Technology honig(a)otc.net Intaanetto Jigyoubu ""The tragedy of Galois is that he could have contributed so much more to mathematics if he'd only spent more time on his marksmanship."

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Re: Misty???
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Adam Back wrote: > Tim May wrote: > | I wouldn't call Misty "snake oil." But it's also been thoroughly taken > | apart and shown to be weak. Importantly, it was submitted by Mitsubishi for > | peer review. > > Could you provide a pointer to the analysis paper? Adam, you should know better than to ask. Everyone knows you can't trust a bigot to do cryptography. Tim "Chop Chop" May's opinions about Misty are based not on the strength of the cipher, but on the ethnicity of the creator. On Thu, 11 Sep 1997 22:09:15, Tim May wrote: > At 9:30 PM -0700 9/11/97, Nobuki Nakatuji wrote: > >Does anybody know MITSUBISHI MISTY algorithm ? > >If you know it,Please send e-mail to me. > > > > You want me play Misty for you? You send me $2500, I play Misty. > > Like you do, I take much money, chop chop. > > (Now shut the fuck up and get the hell off our list with your demands for > money to explain your bullshit one time pad scheme.)

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politics of topology (was On the LAM--Local Area Mixes)
by Rishab Aiyer Ghosh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

m k gandhi used to say that it was good india was colonised by the _british_ - the poor fools were vulnerable to non-violent rational argument and (relatively) concerned about such oddities as human rights. one problem with tim may's idea for local area mixes is just that: relying on US stickliness on wimpy rules for search/interception is all very well, but wouldn't fly in china. i won't get into the argument over how awful the US state is here, but if all cypherpunk technology can fight is the "tyrannical" democracies of the west, it's not much good, IMNSHO. besides, if such technology becomes widespread in, say, the US, then it's inevitable that the authorities will tend towards more _real_ tyrannical behaviour, diluting search/seizure protections and taking you closer to china. a weak vaccine _strengthens_ the microbe it is supposed to kill. today your tech may let you plan stink-bomb attacks on the IRS in peace; tomorrow it may not be sufficient to let you publish articles critical of the goverment. i always thought the cypherpunk idea ("write code" etc) was to develop tech that is _independent_ of political protections. technology will not undermine the power of governments, if it is based on (incorrect) assumptions that governments will continue to restrain themselves (e.g. search & seizure) when faced by increasing use of such tech. i should think that LAMs would be excellent test-beds for larger-scale systems, but it is larger-scale systems, where you don't assume the government's _not_ snooping because it's squeamish, that matter more. best, -rishab First Monday - The Peer-Reviewed Journal on the Internet http://www.firstmonday.dk/ Munksgaard International Publishers, Copenhagen Intl & Managing Editor - Rishab Aiyer Ghosh (ghosh(a)firstmonday.dk) Mobile +91 98110 14574; Fax +91 11 2209608; Tel +91 11 2454717 A4/204 Ekta Apts., 9 Indraprastha Extn, New Delhi 110092 INDIA

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Communicator 5.0 to be GPL'ed
by Jrbl Pookah 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Here's something I came across on one of my other lists. I looked at the URL, and it looked good. Anybody able to confirm/deny? And what kind of implications do y'all think this'll have for Netscape's security? (What if improved security code comes to Netscape from bodies /outside/ the US?) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 22 Jan 1998 10:33:21 -0800 (PST) From: <snip...snip> Subject: Communicator 5.0 to be GPL'ed Yes its true !! http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/980122/ca_netscap_3.html woo hoo!! Dex- ----End Forwarded Message--- -- Joseph Blaylock Castle Computers, Inc. JOAT,MODF blaylock(a)castlec.com (513)469-0888 YMMV -- "Everything is perfect, but there is a lot of room for improvement." ---Shunryu Suzuki

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Gore Commission wants to regulate the Net like broadcast
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 13:28:24 -0800 (PST) From: Declan McCullagh <declan(a)well.com> To: politech(a)vorlon.mit.edu Subject: FC: Gore Commission wants to regulate the Net like broadcast ************* Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 16:20:23 -0500 From: Alan Moseley <amoseley(a)clark.net> To: declan(a)well.com Subject: the Gore Commission and digital media The Gore Commission -- the group created by Clinton to determine the future public interest obligations of digital TV broadcasters -- showed signs last week of broadening its reach to include other digital media that can deliver broadcast-like audio and video. Significantly, the group discussed the possibility of including other digital media in their recommendations after viewing a demonstration of the Internet's potential to provide audio and video. If digital TV broadcasters can be made to serve some notion of the "public interest" through government-mandated programming and restrictions on programming, is it not a short step for the government to regulate other digital content-providers? This group should be watched carefully as they discuss future regulations on digital speech. The Media Institute (http://www.mediainst.org) a First Amendment advocacy group based in Washington, has issued the following press release on this subject: --------------------- Media Institute's Public Interest Council Sees Danger in Gore Commission Suggestion Washington, Jan. 20 -- The prospect of extending government-mandated public interest obligations beyond the broadcasting industry, raised in comments by the co-chairman of the Gore Commission, illustrates both the lack of justification for and danger in these proceedings, The Media Institute's Public Interest Council said today. The Council was reacting to comments last Friday by Norman Ornstein, co-chairman of the Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters, at an open meeting of the group in Washington. Following a demonstration of "video streaming" Internet technology and a discussion of digital convergence, Ornstein noted that mandatory public interest obligations on broadcasters may not be sufficient. He suggested that the Advisory Committee (popularly known as the Gore Commission) might want to examine the public interest role of other digital media as well. Ornstein questioned "whether we should be making this really firm distinction, saddling broadcasters...with heavy public interest obligations, and letting others get off scot-free." Media Institute President Patrick D. Maines, speaking for the Institute's Public Interest Council, challenged that idea: "The mere mention of that possibility -- extending the 'public interest' rationale to other media -- should raise alarms for anyone who values our country's constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press. "We already have a presidential commission considering whether to recommend additional public interest obligations for broadcasters solely because they will be converting to digital technology. Mr. Ornstein's comments illustrate the ominous ease with which government might attempt to impose so-called public interest obligations on other types of digital media, such as on-line information services, DBS, cable, and perhaps even newspapers that are digitally transmitted to printing plants," Maines said. "The Gore Commission is correct to note that over-the-air television is far from the only medium serving today's consumer. That felicitous fact, however, ought to lead the Commission to recommend a lessening of the obligations on broadcasters, not an increase on broadcasters and everyone else." The recent experience of the Communications Decency Act demonstrates the government's willingness to control digital speech. The digital convergence argument could be a new rationale for further such interventions, Maines warned. Maines spoke on behalf of The Media Institute's Public Interest Council, a four-member group created recently to study the public interest question and to follow the work of the Gore Commission. Members include communications attorneys Robert Corn-Revere and J. Laurent Scharff, and constitutional scholars Robert M. O'Neil and Laurence H. Winer. Information about The Media Institute, its Public Interest Council, and the Gore Commission is available on-line at http://www.mediainst.org. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- the moderated mailing list of politics and technology To subscribe: send a message to majordomo(a)vorlon.mit.edu with this text: subscribe politech More information is at http://www.well.com/~declan/politech/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Misty???
by William H. Geiger III 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Well on another mailing list I have been chastised for calling Misty "snake-oil". Has anyone actually examined this algorithm? Seems there is an IETF Draft on it (draft-ohta-misty1desc-00.txt). Any opinions on it?? My only exposure has be through the pidgon-english posts of Nobuki Nakatuji (if it looks like a duck, it smells like a duck, it quacks like a duck ....). - -- - --------------------------------------------------------------- William H. Geiger III http://users.invweb.net/~whgiii Geiger Consulting Cooking With Warp 4.0 Author of E-Secure - PGP Front End for MR/2 Ice PGP & MR/2 the only way for secure e-mail. OS/2 PGP 2.6.3a at: http://users.invweb.net/~whgiii/pgpmr2.html - --------------------------------------------------------------- Tag-O-Matic: I use OS/2 2.0 and I don't care who knows! -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3a-sha1 Charset: cp850 Comment: Registered_User_E-Secure_v1.1b1_ES000000 iQCVAwUBNMbWgY9Co1n+aLhhAQFjoQQAgRac4gm3MM1mbZUfb0jH21b7gQt1IRYR wWFilIA2am/6x+bmF3RKG64A9/iwp00rD45g2yybw91Gg3/87nEMjPBpo+DCchtb psYRKyDOTxOAr7GljOa2k4HJAfNDqjxQ56sI/4whk2PEADnpHilzln98tEJobZA7 oxZw9FeGlig= =M0fT -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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State of the Union Address
by bubbabill＠whitehouse.gov 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hear that the State of the Union next Monday has a section on Internet - networks - critical infrastructure protection et al. Anyone have any details?

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Ultra computer
by Nobuki Nakatuji 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Ultra computer which NEC had the calculation speed of the world maximum of about 1000 times of the super computer to was decided to be developed. Ultra computer will be completed in 2001. It has the performance that the calculation which takes 10000 years with the personal computer is made of 3, 4 days. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

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Cybersitter censors code
by Secret Squirrel 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>>Turns out, someone had inadvertly installed this piece of garbage >>called CyberSitter, which purports to protect you from nasty internet >>content. Turns out that it does this by patching the TCP drivers and >>watching the data flow over EVERY TCP STREAM. Can you spot the offense >>word in my example? It's "NUDE". Seems that cybersitter doesn't care if >>there are other characters in between. So it blanks out "nu */ #de" >>without blanking out the punctuation and line breaks. Very strange and >>stupid. Find out who it is and fire his ass for sabotage of the company computer systems.

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