December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Predicting cipher life / NSA rigged DES? / Destroying encrypted data (Tangent to Re: Burning papers)
by jim＠mentat.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Randall Farmer skribis: > Been thinking, most applications for ciphers assume solely based on cipher x's > keysize that data will be secure for a certain length of time. ... > My idea ... is averaging the remaining lifetimes in > analysis-hours of broken ciphers which survived as many person-hours of attack > as the one in question. Doesn't seem terribly likely. Typically ciphers will look strong until someone discovers a chink. The chink will sometimes lead to a serious break, but not always, and not always quickly -- but at that point the cipher looks weak. Your best chance at encrypting stuff that needs a long shelf life is with a cipher that's had a lot of analysis and plenty of intrinsic key, like 3DES. > Am I just going crazy, or is it kind of obvious that NSA knew the s-boxes they > provided for DES weren't secure? The former. The S-boxes they replaced were bogus, and the ones they came up with were good against differential cryptanalysis -- better than random ones. There's no a priori reason to believe they knew about linear cryptanalysis, and in any case Matsui's l.c. attack on DES is better than brute force only in situations where you have a great deal of known or chosen plaintext. So how come you claim they aren't secure? DES isn't suitable for long-archived info, but is still OK for short-lifetime data against a not-too-motivated attacker: its only known weakness for this application is its key-length, not its S-boxes. > Anyhow, these two (or three) values are XORed together to form the key used to > encrypt the volume. When your adversaries, armed with their trusty rubber > hoses, come knocking at and/or down your door, you hit a hotkey to start > destroying those 24 bytes on disk, which can be done faster and more > effectively than a wipe of every sector in the volume. The folks with the I like it! Jim Gillogly Trewesday, 8 Solmath S.R. 1998, 00:27 12.19.4.15.17, 8 Caban 15 Muan, Second Lord of Night

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ALERT - Internet Fraud and Spying
by 16632040＠msn.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Webmaster.... This publication has been a best seller. I thought you would like to see it. ARE YOU BEING INVESTIGATED ? Learn the Internet tools that are used to investigate you, your friends, neighbors, enemies, Employees or anyone else! My huge report "SNOOPING THE INTERNET" of Internet sites will give you... * Thousands of Internet locations to look up people, credit, Social security, current or past employment, Driving records, medical information, addresses, phone numbers, Maps to city locations... Every day the media (television, radio, and newspapers) are full of stories about PERSONAL INFORMATION being used, traded, and sold over the Internet... usually without your permission or knowledge. With my report I show you HOW IT'S DONE!!! It's amazing.. Locate a debtor that is hiding, or get help in finding hidden assets. * Find that old romantic interest. * Find e-mail, telephone or address information on just about anyone! Unlisted phone numbers can often be found through some of these sites!! Perhaps you're working on a family "tree" or history. The Internet turns what once was years of work into hours of DISCOVERY & INFORMATION. Check birth, death, adoption or social security records. MILITARY Check service records of Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps. Find out who's been telling the truth and who's been lying. Perhaps you can uncover the next lying politician!!! FELLOW EMPLOYEES; * Find out if your fellow employee was jailed on sex charges, or has other "skeletons" in the closet!! PERFORM BACKGROUND CHECKS; Check credit, driving or criminal records, Verify income or educational claims, Find out Military history and discipline, previous political affiliations, etc. YOUR KID'S FRIENDS; Find out the background of your children's friends & dates. WHAT'S THE LAW? STOP GUESSING!! * Look up laws, direct from law libraries around the world. Is that new business plan legal?? NEW JOB? NEW TOWN? NEW LIFE? Employment ads from around the world can be found on the Internet. Get a new job and disappear! The Internet can tell you just about ANYTHING, if you know WHERE to look. BONUS REPORT!!!! Check your credit report and use the Internet to force credit bureaus to remove derogatory information. My special BONUS REPORT included as part of the "SNOOPING THE INTERNET" collection reveals all sorts of credit tricks, legal and for "information purposes only" some of the ILLEGAL tricks. Research YOURSELF first! What you find will scare you. If you believe that the information that is compiled on you should be as easily available to you as it is to those who compile it, then. . . You want to order the SNOOPING THE INTERNET report. This huge report is WHERE YOU START! Once you locate these FREE private, college and government web sites, you'll find even MORE links to information search engines! YOU CAN FIND OUT ANYTHING ABOUT ANYBODY ANY TIME using the Internet!!!! 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This is a 24 hour phone number to place a CREDIT CARD order. 5) FAX A COPY of your signed check to 530-895-8470. This is an EXCELLENT way to order without a credit card! I will RUSH back to you SAME DAY my "SNOOPING THE INTERNET" report! Log on to the Internet and in moments you will fully understand... What information is available -- and exact Internet site to get there! 2nd BONUS!!!! Along with the report we will send a 3 1/2" disk with sites already "HOT LINKED". No need to type in those addresses. Simply click on the URL address and "PRESTO" you are at the web site!!! Personal ads, logs of personal e-mail, mention of individuals anywhere on the Internet are "yours for the taking" with this report. Lists of resources to find even more information (private Investigation companies, etc..) Order surveillance equipment (if legal in your state) Send anonymous e-mail Research companies Research technology Locate military records FIND INFORMATION ON CRIMINALS Find Wanted fugitives - perhaps even a close associate! ABSOLUTE SATISFACTION GUARANTEED: Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed, just return the material for a full refund within 30 days if you aren't 100% satisfied. This offer is from a private company. Casino Chico / R Jon Scott Hall publications is not associated with or endorsed by, AOL, MSN, or any other Internet service provider. Copyright 1998 All Rights Reserved R Jon Scott Hall Publications.

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Why This List Is A Security Risk
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Setting policy on national security risk for the entire USG, the DoD proclaims a trustworthy person does not engage in the following: Sec. 147.14 Guideline L--Outside activities. (a) The concern. Involvement in certain types of outside employment or activities is of security concern if it poses a conflict with an individual's security responsibilities and could create an increased risk of unauthorized disclosure of classified information. (b) Conditions that could raise a security concern and may be disqualifying include any service, whether compensated, volunteer, or employment with: (1) A foreign country; (2) Any foreign national; (3) A representative of any foreign interest; (4) Any foreign, domestic, or international organization or person engaged in analysis, discussion, or publication of material on intelligence, defense, foreign affairs, or protected technology. ----- >From 32 CFR Part 147 published today.

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Dr Dobbs crypto CD
by dlv＠bwalk.dm.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The DDJ I just got (March 98) has a full-page ad for the crypto CD (p.113) saying inter alia "New Release! fast Search Engine" Has anyone received even the "old release"? --- Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps

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RIP, Carl Gorman, Code Talker
by Gary Harland 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Mr. Carl Gorman, one of the few remaining Navajo 'Code-Talkers' of WWII fame, died yesterday of cancer at the age of 90. Along with his fellow Navajo, he encrypted military voice communication by using his native language over the radio in the Great American Imperialist Struggle against the Great Japanese Imperialist Initative. Just a few thoughts: - when asked why he helped America after all the abuse he took growing up as a Navajo, he basically said (my interpretation here) he was fighting to protect the Navajo, not particularily America, from the Japanese. A geographical dilemma. - aside from the NSA sucking up everything in sight relating to languages, doesn't Chomsky's theoretical 'Universal Syntax' (all human languages have an identical fundamental syntax) negate the effectiveness of the Code-Talker approach in the long run? - on the other hand, the lovely ambiguities of natural language would seem to be capable of effectively obscuring the meaning of the message even if the plaintext were revealed. For example, President Clinton's reference to 'blowjobs' not actually being a sexual act. While the President is innocently asking a normal person to provide him with a urgently needed act of personal hygiene, that person mistakingly would be thinking he wants oral sex. An effective obscuration of the Prez's message. - now-a-days of course, if the shoe were on the other foot, the Navy's NOSS satellite constellations would trianglate on the radio signal and feed the coordinates to one of the TDRS sat- ellites to target the crusie missles we just launched, effectively ending the conversation prematurely without regard to syntax. [Sexy Hi-Tech Option]. Using radio for passing encrypted comm seems to require a few non-traditional approaches. For example, using a repeater system that would present the NOSS satellites and any RDF equipment in the neighborhood with 'a thousand points of...' RF energy - the 'needle-in-the-haystack' approach. The source would be difficult to find amongst its many (presumedly cheap) clones. Oh well. Good bye Carl. Thanks for the help. Sorry we were such jerks. On the bright side - we're such third-rate fuckups it's a sure thing the Navajo will out-live us if they just hang in there a little bit longer. Your living to 90 was a fine example. Survival is always the best revenge. ----------------------------------------------------------------- foggy(a)netisle.net lat:47d36'32" long:122d20'12" "Rather perish than hate and fear, and twice rather perish than make oneself hated and feared." -F. Nietzche- -----------------------------------------------------------------

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Feb. 8 coilumn -- GOA
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text Resent-Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 02:11:43 -0700 X-Sender: vin(a)dali.lvrj.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 01:12:36 -0800 To: cathy(a)engr.colostate.edu From: Vin_Suprynowicz(a)lvrj.com (Vin Suprynowicz) Subject: Feb. 8 coilumn -- GOA Resent-From: vinsends(a)ezlink.com X-Mailing-List: <vinsends(a)ezlink.com> archive/latest/431 X-Loop: vinsends(a)ezlink.com Precedence: list Resent-Sender: vinsends-request(a)ezlink.com FROM MOUNTAIN MEDIA FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATED FEB. 8, 1998 THE LIBERTARIAN, By Vin Suprynowicz Second Amendment: changing of the guard Last time, we were discussing the "take-the-best-available-compromise," defeatist attitude of the nation's largest gun control organization, the National Rifle Association. Their lighter, leaner competition for gun owner support, Gun Owners of America, prefers a more high-pressure approach, putting the fire to the feet of lawmakers to make sure they know that a vote against gun rights will cost them their next election ... just as Bill Clinton acknowledged that the gun rights vote cost the Democratic Party its control of Congress in 1994. In a 1968 edition of the NRA's magazine, "The American Rifleman," Associate Editor Alan C. Webber responded to then-timely criticism by U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy, D-N.Y., who said "I think it is a terrible indictment of the National Rifle Association that they haven't supported any legislation to ban and control the misuse of rifles and pistols in this country." To this, Mr. Webber reports NRA Executive Vice President Franklin L. Orth responded with a ringing endorsement of the 1968 Gun Control Act. "The National Rifle Association has been in support of workable, enforceable gun control legislation since its very inception in 1871," Mr. Orth proclaimed. "The duty of Congress is clear. It should act now to pass legislation that will keep undesirables, including criminals, drug addicts and persons adjudged mentally irresponsible or alcoholic, or juveniles, from obtaining firearms through the mails." One will remember that the way the 1968 law accomplished that, was by banning EVERYONE but an ever-shrinking pool of federally licensed gun dealers from "obtaining firearms through the mails"! Sort of like "getting drunks off the road," by banning cars and trucks! "The NRA position, as stated by Orth, emphasizes that the NRA has consistently supported gun legislation which it feels would penalize misuse of guns, without harassing law-abiding hunters, target shooters and collectors," concludes editor Webber. What an interesting list. Do you see "militiamen" in there? I don't. Does the Second Amendment say anything about duck-hunting? The Brits, who have just finished banning all private ownership of handguns, insist THEY still protect the "rights of law-abiding hunters, target shooters, and collectors," too. If you have an English country estate, you can still own a richly-engraved, $5,000 bird gun. If you like to target shoot, you may fire pellet guns or even .22s at your registered club ... so long as you leave the weapon locked up there when you go home. And "collectors" are still presumably welcome to own as many guns as they want ... from the flintlock era or earlier. Gee, that'll put them in great shape the next time the Germans or French come storming the beaches. Which is precisely why OUR Second Amendment talks exclusively about the needs of "the militia." Meantime, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms agents holding a panel discussion for an audience of mostly gun store owners at this week's SHOT Outdoor Trades show, here in Las Vegas, declared that the way they interpret the "permanent replacement Brady Bill" due to go into effect in November of 1998 -- the one the NRA favors due to its promised "insta-Check" capability -- will call for a "Brady check" and permanent record of every LONG GUN purchase, as well. The NRA operates, in effect, as nothing but a public relations outreach arm for the Republican Party, tasked to convince gun rights advocates that the GOP is their only hope. But Newt Gingrich promised us that if only we would elect a GOP majority to Congress there would be "no more gun control passed" on his watch, didn't he? Mind you, that's a pretty modest promise, compared to the Libertarian Party platform plank on guns, which calls for ALL existing gun control laws to be immediately REPEALED. But not only have Mr. Gingrich's Republicans failed to repeal the major federal gun control acts of 1933 and 1968, not only have they failed to repeal the Brady Bill and the Feinstein-Schumer "assault weapons ban" (as they promised), but they actually ENACTED the so-called Anti-Terrorism Bill with the Lautenberg Amendment, which retroactively strips police and many other citizens of their gun rights based on any prior domestic misdemeanor convictions (shouting at your kids). And then, not satisfied, they went on to pass the "Gun Free School Zone Act" ... TWICE! Putting him to the test of fire, I asked Larry Pratt of GOA last week whether he would favor allowing a 17-year-old girl to walk into a hardware store, buy and take home a belt-fed .30-caliber machine gun, without signing her name, showing any ID, or applying for any kind of government "permit." "Well, that's the way it would have been in 1933, before the National Firearms Act, wouldn't it?" he asked. "Is that a yes?" I asked back. Mr. Pratt, in front of a sizeable public gathering at the San Remo Hotel and Casino, said "Yes." And that's why I think we're about to see a changing of the guard when it comes to gun-rights lobbying, from the arthritic and the defeated, to the aggressive, the fearless, and the principled. Congressman Ron Paul, R-Tex., has called Gun Owners of America "the only no-compromise gun lobby in Washington." With a fraction of the NRA's manpower, membership or budget, GOA has defeated powerful state legislative committee chairmen (in Ohio) who were foolish enough to support more gun control, and has helped elect congressmen like Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland, currently sponsor of HR27, the Citizens Self-Defense Act, which would "protect the right to obtain ... and to use firearms in defense of self, family or home." Unless they change their stripes with fearsome speed, I fear the NRA and their hog-trough affiliate, the Republican Party as we've known it, are headed for the elephant's graveyard, and soon. On the other hand, if Gun Owners of America sold stock, I'd be buying. Vin Suprynowicz is the assistant editorial page editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Readers may contact him via e-mail at vin(a)lvrj.com. *** Vin Suprynowicz, vin(a)lvrj.com "If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains set lightly upon you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams --- 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/ Ask me about FC98 in Anguilla!: <http://www.fc98.ai/>

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Feb. 6 column -- Where to start
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text Resent-Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 02:08:34 -0700 X-Sender: vin(a)dali.lvrj.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 01:09:30 -0800 To: cathy(a)engr.colostate.edu From: Vin_Suprynowicz(a)lvrj.com (Vin Suprynowicz) Subject: Feb. 6 column -- Where to start Resent-From: vinsends(a)ezlink.com X-Mailing-List: <vinsends(a)ezlink.com> archive/latest/430 X-Loop: vinsends(a)ezlink.com Precedence: list Resent-Sender: vinsends-request(a)ezlink.com FROM MOUNTAIN MEDIA FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATED FEB. 6, 1998 THE LIBERTARIAN, By Vin Suprynowicz Getting started S.J. writes from Johns Hopkins: "Vin -- I have found and enjoyed your web page (http://www.nguworld.com/vindex/) I am also recently reading David Boaz's book "Libertarianism: A Primer." I have been accused by professors of being a Libertarian. I really was not sure what one was. Thus my recent readings. I have many questions and no one to dialogue with. If you have time, could you tell me places I may check here in Washington D.C. ..." Egon, whose locale I don't know, similarly inquires: "... Incidently, I both enjoy and dread (reading your columns.) So few people realize how this country was intended. There is no other country in which the citizens are "sovereign," with all the rights of a king reserved to the people. But at the same time, the government has craftily changed things around. And so, the real question: Can you point me in a direction to information about how to help address these issues, or people to talk to about them?" # # # Since informing others must always start with informing ourselves, I suggested that both fellows they lay hands on a couple of recent catalogs from Laissez Faire Books, 938 Howard St., Suite 202, San Francisco 94103; tel. 415-541-9780; e-mail orders to orders(a)laissezfaire.org. Beginners may want to look for Thomas Szasz, Burton Folsom, Albert J. Nock, John Taylor Gatto, and Ayn Rand. Laissez Faire now lists L. Neil Smith's "Bretta Martin," which is good, but not "Pallas," which would be better. Also missing are John Ross' "Unintended Consequences" (Accuracy Press) and Claire Wolfe's "101 Things to Do Till the Revolution" (Loompanics.) It's also worth getting on the mailing list of the Cato Institute, at 100 Mass. Ave. NW, in Washington D.C., 20001 (tel. 202-842-0200), and of Bumper Hornberger's Future of Freedom Foundation (e-mail FFFVA(a)compuserve.com) in Northern Virginia. The Ludwig von mises Institute (owner-misesmail(a)colossus.net) tel. 334-844-2500 puts out some nifty economic publications, and for e-mail on jury rights issues you can't beat the Jury Rights Project, e-mail jrights(a)levellers.org; web page www.lrt.org/jrp.homepage.htm. Leading the new battle against the national ID card is the Coalition to Repeal the Fingerprints Law, Suite 133, 5446 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Atlanta 30341; voice mail 404-250-8105; web site www.atlantainfoguide.com/repeal/. I seem to have fallen out of touch with the Separation of School and State Alliance, based in California; maybe they'll send me some up-to-date contact information. President Brenda Grantland tells me the group Forfeiture Endangers American Rights has recently opened an office in D.C., and may be in a position to welcome volunteer help as well as contributions. Contact Interim Director Tom Gordon at the F.E.A.R. Foundation, P.O. Box 15421 Washington, D.C. 20003; tel. 202-546-4381, or toll free at 1-888-FEAR-001; e-mail TomGordon(a)fear.org; web site http://www.fear.org. Other groups worth contacting for information -- and supporting with donations or volunteer help -- include the Fully-Informed Jury Association at Box 59, Helmville, Montana 59843, tel. 406-793-5550, and Aaron Zelman's Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, 2874 S. Wentworth Ave., Milwaukee, Wisc. 53207, tel. 414-769-0760 (web site http://www.JPFO.org; e-mail Against-Genocide(a)JPFO.org.) JPFO welcomes "righteous goyim," or non-Jews, and in fact never even asks prospective members their religion. I used to think JPFO was the only truly principled gun-rights organization in the nation, holding that ANY "gun control" is an inevitable precursor to new genocides. I am now, finally, ready to submit that there are two. I have been watching for some years the development of Larry Pratt's Gun Owners of America, based at 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, Va. 22151; tel. 703-321-8585; web site http://www.gunowners.org; e-mail goaslad(a)aol.com. Folks have always called GOA "the other gun group," in deference to the massive and cholesterol-clogged National Rifle Association. Enemies of freedom always enjoy caricaturing ther NRA as a bunch of buck-toothed hunters in plaid shirts, blasting away at Bambi with a bazooka. But let me make a fearless prediction right here: as the lean little GOA strides onto their battlefield like an adolescent saber-tooth, the forces of victim disarmament are going to start waxing reminiscent about the warm, happy days when their only "opposition" was that walnut-brained brontosaurus, the NRA. The NRA's lobbying philosophy has long been to ridicule Libertarians or Independents who may be TRUE devotees of our Second Amendment rights, instead cynically endorsing and even funding the "lesser of two evils" among the two candidates representing the Republicrat and Demopublican branches of the Big Government Party. This NRA spending and lobbying philosophy is all about "buying access," but as Mr. Pratt of GOA says, "It's all based on a defeatist attitude. They think we've lost, that we have a bad bargaining position, so all we can do is make the best deal we can with this tyrant." Recently, NRA lobbyists have even twisted arms in state legislatures around the nation to INCREASE the cost and "training" rigmarole required to lay hands of a state "concealed carry permit" ... the better to insure the standards are the same nationwide. GOA thinks permit requirements should be identical in every state, too ... identical to the current law in Vermont, which requires no permit for concealed carry, at all, and which has "the lowest murder rate in the country," smiles Mr. Pratt. "But the 'access' lobbyists, if their approach was right, why do we keep losing ground?" Pratt asked his enthusiastic Las Vegas crowd. Next time: The GOA plays hardball. Vin Suprynowicz is the assistant editorial page editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Readers may contact him via e-mail at vin(a)lvrj.com. The web site for the Suprynowicz column is at http://www.nguworld.com/vindex/. The column is syndicated in the United States and Canada via Mountain Media Syndications, P.O. Box 4422, Las Vegas Nev. 89127. *** Vin Suprynowicz, vin(a)lvrj.com "If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains set lightly upon you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams --- 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/ Ask me about FC98 in Anguilla!: <http://www.fc98.ai/>

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Re: Interesting Chemical Reaction
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> Date: Wed, 28 Jan 1998 17:36:28 -0500 > From: ghio(a)temp0200.myriad.ml.org (Matthew Ghio) > Subject: Re: Interesting Chemical Reaction > Here's something to ponder: > > Consider two objects initially at the same temperature. One is at the > focus of a hemispherical mirror. An elliptical mirror with both objects > at its foci encloses the remaining space. > > Because of the spherical mirror, the first object reabsorbs most of its > heat lost by radiation, but most of the second object's radiated heat is > reflected upon the first. Hence the first object becomes warmer relative > to the second. > > The entropy here appears to decrease, but according to thermodynamics that > is impossible. Can anyone explain how it is that the total entropy would > not decrease? Perpetual motion machines built on violations of thermodynamics involving hemispherical and ellipsoidal mirrors have been around for years. They don't work. The objects do not change temperature. Trace a ray from each object. In every direction, it hits an object which is at exactly the same temperature as it is. It may be itself, or it may be the other object. But in each case, the temperature is the same in all directions. The "sky" is the same temperature as the object, so it does not change temperature.

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More on ISDN Features
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

This is from UK Crypto, where the ISDN-snoop part of the EuroParl report on technologies for political control was cited and asked if true. Perhaps Jim Choate, Steve Schear and others might clarify. Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 00:09:40 +0000 To: ukcrypto(a)maillist.ox.ac.uk From: John Brooks <jbrooks(a)peeras.demon.co.uk> Subject: Re: [vin(a)shore.net: EuroParl Report - NSA, Crypto, Liberty & Trade] >A draft ("consultation version") of a report by the European >Parliament's Office for Scientific and Technological Option Assessment >(STOA) entitled "AN APPRAISAL OF TECHNOLOGIES OF POLITICAL >CONTROL" has been submitted to the EuroParl's Civil Liberties and >Interior Committee. But this is all (or 99 percent) complete bollocks. >"[...] Some systems even lend themselves to a dual role as a national >interceptions network. ??? > For example the message switching system used on digital >exchanges like System X in the UK supports an Integrated >Services Digital Network (ISDN) Protocol. This allows digital >devices, e.g. fax to share the system with existing lines. The ISDN >subset is defined in their documents as "Signalling CCITT1-series >interface for ISDN access". I think this means I series - which are all public docs... >What is not widely known is that built in to the international CCITT >protocol is the ability to take phones 'off hook' Yes - ok. If you have a delinquent ISDN switch AND the totalitarian state wants to bug you AND YOU choose to use a handset which DOES NOT break the analogue path between the microphone and the ISDN NTU / TA (all standard analogue phones break the circuit, AFAIK. It's only the speakerphone gadgets that could be subverted.) Then I suppose this is possible. But who gives a s**t about the .1% of vulnerable phones. And it would be dead easy to mod them to defeat any such attempt. There are loads of easier ways to mount covert surveillance than screwing up the phone system! >and listen into conversations occurring near the phone, >without the user being aware that it is happening." ISDN is NOT a 'message switching protocol', and there is none as such on Sys X and Y, which use SS7 for inter-switch signalling anyway. The ISDN interfaces and service are only defined for the ends of various types of subscriber line, as far as I remember. What happens inside the provider network is up to the provider and is not ISDN. I'm much more concerned about the Echelon system which was (finally) reported in the Sunday Telegraph just before Xmas. This system, it is alleged, can intercept and look for keywords in ALL international comms traffic. I believe this also gets a mention in the Europarliament report. Vote early and often for freely available strong encryption!! (whatever JR mutters about 'doing him out of his livelihood' :=) ) Key escrow is another example of complete bollocks, IMHO. Cheers -jb -- John Brooks - Consultant in Data Communications, Networking and Energy Systems South Croydon, 7,CR2 7HN, UK Tel: (44) 181 681 1595 Fax: (44) 181 649 7536 The opinions expressed here are mine but are not offered as professional advice. ---------- BTW, provocative commentary on the EuroParl report by Vin McLellan, which is the source of the UK Crypto thread, is available at: http://jya.com/nsa-etc-nf.htm

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Re: FCPUNX:comp.html (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 15:10:08 -0800 (PST) > From: "James A. Donald" <jamesd(a)echeque.com> > Subject: Re: FCPUNX:comp.html > However quantum computers so far envisaged (but not yet > built) can only do a few steps before they lose quantum > coherence. > > So far factoring a four bit number is well beyond the state > of the art in quantum computation. I only have two things to say to this: - This year. - Quantum Coupled Architectures ____________________________________________________________________ | | | The obvious is sometimes false; | | The unexpected sometimes true. | | | | Anonymous | | | | | | _____ The Armadillo Group | | ,::////;::-. Austin, Tx. USA | | /:'///// ``::>/|/ http://www.ssz.com/ | | .', |||| `/( e\ | | -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- Jim Choate | | ravage(a)ssz.com | | 512-451-7087 | |____________________________________________________________________|

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