December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Original Sources for Echelon
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Duncan Campbell has posted the message below on Echelon. Would anyone happen to have a copy of the 1988 New Statesman article? If not, I'll dig it out of a library. More importantly, as Duncan asks, does anyone know of other original info on Echelon? ---------- Date: Mon, 02 Mar 1998 23:35:59 To: ukcrypto(a)maillist.ox.ac.uk From: Duncan Campbell <duncan(a)gn.apc.org> Subject: Original sources regarding the ECHELON sigint network >>The New York times has recently run a story regarding a "telecommunications >>interception network" operating in Europe. >>My recollection is that news broke about this some time last year, thanks >>to revelations in New Zealand. Sorry, I don't have a good reference to >> hand. The original and primary source for information on ECHELON is an article I wrote in New Statesman magazine ten years ago : NS, 12 August 1988 : "They've got it taped". In 1991, a UK World in Action programme added an important new detail about the network, namely the presence of a DICTIONARY computer (a key part of the system) at GCHQ's processing centre in Westminster. In 1993, I produced a documentary for Channel 4 - "The Hill" which related ECHELON to the work of the Menwith Hill NSA field station near Harrogate in Yorkshire. In 1996, Nicky Hager in New Zealand described in his book "Secret Power" the presence of DICTIONARY computers at two New Zealand sigint stations, and gave extensive details of the local programming and tasking of the ECHELON "dictionaries". Apart from these sources, so far as I am aware all the reports that are around are derivative and reprocessed. The European Parliament STOA committee report from the "Omega Foundation" is in this category and was in fact submitted rather more than a year ago. If anyone is aware of any other *original* publication on this topic, could they post it. The arrival in the public domain of original information in this area is a rarity, yet is the foundation for the only things we "know" about the scale of NSA/GCHQ surveillance and processing. Duncan Campbell

1 0

Fwd: Thoughts
by Perrin . 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Not So Deep Thoughts Should vegetarians eat animal crackers? If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you. The pen is mightier than the sword -- if the sword is very small and the pen is real sharp. If you throw a cat out a car window, does it become kitty litter? Call me insane one more time and I'll eat your other eye! I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian. When it rains, why don't sheep shrink? The two biggest problems in America are making ends meet and making meetings end. Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out? The trouble with doing nothing is that you never know when you are finished. Money isn't everything, but at least it encourages relatives to stay in touch. If a stealth bomber crashes in a forest, does it make a sound? A single fact can spoil a good argument. Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional. I do whatever my Rice Krispies tell me to. Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game" when we're already there? ---------------- fixed by Perrin pleontks(a)hotmail.com http://members.tripod.com/~pleontks http://www.angelfire.com/az/69frank69 ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

1 0

Fwd: Taglines
by Perrin . 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

*** Some Funny Taglines ***** 2 rules to success in life. 1. Don't tell people everything you know. A good pun is its own reword. A penny for your thoughts; $20 to act them out. After silence, music comes closest to expressing the inexpressible. Alcoholic: Someone you don't like who drinks as much as you do. All things are possible, except skiing through a revolving door. Any man who can see through women is sure missing a lot. Apathy Error: Don't bother striking any key. Blessed are the censors; they shall inhibit the earth. Budget: A method for going broke methodically. Can you think of another word for "synonym"? Circle: A line that meets its other end without ending. Civilized people need love for full sexual satisfaction. Cole's Law: Thinly sliced cabbage. Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels good. Consider what might be fertilizing the greener grass across the fence. Death and taxes are inevitable; at least death doesn't get worse every = year. Defeat is worse than death because you have to live with defeat. Despite the high cost of living, it remains popular. Does Time pass? Yes, it does. How else can you explain Visa bills? Don't use no double negatives, not never. Don't sweat the petty things, just pet the sweaty things. Don't eat the yellow snow. Down with categorical imperatives. Either I'm dead or my watch has stopped. =20 Electricity comes from electrons; morality comes from morons. Everything in moderation, including moderation. Familiarity breeds children. Fast, Cheap, Good: Choose any two. Fools rush in -- and get the best seats in the house. Give me chastity and continence, but not just now. -- St. Augustine Have an adequate day. He has the heart of a little child... it's in a jar on his desk. He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead. He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense. Horse sense is the thing a horse has that keeps it from betting on = people. Hospitality: Making your guests feel at home, even though you wish they = were. How come wrong numbers are never busy? I bet you have never seen a plumber bite his nails. I do a lot of thinking in the john. Says a lot for my thoughts. I have had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it. -- = Groucho Marx I have seen the future and it is just like the present, only longer. -- = Albran I like work; it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours. I may not be the world's greatest lover, but number seven's not bad. -- = Allen I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception. -- Marx = I will meet you at the corner of Walk and Don't Walk. I never made a mistake in my life. I thought I did once, but I was = wrong. I used to be lost in the shuffle. Now I just shuffle along with the = lost. I want to die in my sleep like my father, not screaming like his = passengers. I will always love the false image I had of you. I would give my right arm to be ambidextrous. I would like to help you out. Which way did you come in? If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried. If at first you don't succeed, you probably didn't really care anyway. If at first you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment. If it wasn't for muscle spasms, I wouldn't get any exercise at all. If it were truly the thought that counted, more women would be pregnant. If there is no God, who pops up the next Kleenex? -- Art Hoppe If time heals all wounds, how come bellybuttons don't fill in? If today is the first day of the rest of your life, what was yesterday? Illiterate? Write for free help. In order to get a loan you must first prove you don't need it. It doesn't matter whether you win or lose -- until you lose. It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. -- Albert = Einstein It is better to have loved and lost than just to have lost. It is not an optical illusion, it just looks like one. -- Phil White=20 It was a brave man that ate the first oyster. I'll procrastinate...tomorrow. I'll race you to China. You can have a head start. Ready, set, GO! Keep a very firm grasp on reality, so you can strangle it at any time. Keep stress out of your life. Give it to others instead. Knocked; you weren't in. -- Opportunity=20 Know what I hate most? Rhetorical questions. -- Henry Camp=20 Laugh at your problems; everybody else does. Laugh, and the world ignores you. Crying doesn't help either. Lead me not into temptation. I can find it myself. Life is like a fountain... I will tell you how when I figure it out. Life is like an analogy. Make a firm decision now... you can always change it later. Male zebras have white stripes, but female zebras have black stripes. May you die in bed at 95, shot by a jealous spouse. Money DOES talk -- it says good-bye. Most of us hate to see a poor loser. Rich winners, though, are worse. Mr. Bullfrog sez: Time is fun when you're having flies. My name is Annie Key. Ouch! Why are you hitting me?! My mother is a travel agent for guilt trips. My opinions might have changed, but not the fact that I am right. Never deprive someone of hope; it may be all they have. Never put off till tomorrow what you can ignore entirely. Never forget: 2 + 2 =3D 5 for extremely large values of 2. Never hit a man with glasses. Use your fist. Next time you wave at me, use more than one finger, please. No prizes for predicting rain. Prizes only awarded for building arks. Nobody ever goes there, it's too crowded. (I've actually HEARD this!)=20 Nothing cures insomnia like the realization that it is time to get up. One good turn usually gets most of the blanket. Our policy is, when in doubt, do the right thing. -- Roy Ash=20 Out of the mouths of babes does often come cereal. People who think they know everything greatly annoy those of us who do. Politics: n. from Greek; "poli" - many; "tics" - ugly, bloodsucking = parasites. Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur. (Anything in Latin sounds = profound.) Radioactive cats have 18 half-lives. Some people would not recognize subtlety if it hit them on the head. Someday you will get your big chance -- or have you already had it? Sometimes you're the bug, and sometimes you're the windshield. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. -- Sigmund Freud=20 Stealing a rhinoceros should not be attempted lightly. That was Zen; this is Tao. The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to chance. The trouble with political jokes is that they get elected. The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you have it = made. The death rate on Earth is: .... (computing) .... One per person. The most enjoyable form of sex education is the Braille method. The number watching you is proportional to the stupidity of your action. The trouble with being punctual is that no one is there to appreciate = it. There are 3 kinds of people: Those who can count and those who can't. There must be more to life than sitting wondering if there is more to = life. They laughed when I said I'd be a comedian. They aren't laughing now. This aphorism would be seven words long if it were six words shorter. This will be a memorable month -- no matter how hard you try to forget = it. This is the sort of English up with which I will not put. -- Winston = Churchill This sentence contradicts itself: no, wait, actually it doesn't. To err is human. To admit it is a blunder. To err is human. To blame someone else for your errors is even more = human. Toe: A part of the foot used to find furniture in the dark. -- Rilla = May=20 Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do. Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it is just the = opposite. We aren't sure how clouds form. But they know, that is what counts. What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind. -- Thomas Key=20 What if there were no hypothetical situations? --Andrew Kohlsmith=20 When you are in it up to your ears, keep your mouth shut. When professors want your opinion, they'll give it to you. Where there is a will, there is an Inheritance Tax. Why don't "minimalists" find a shorter name for themselves? Why is "abbreviated" such a long word? Why take life seriously? You're not coming out of it alive anyway! Why isn't "phonetic" spelled the way it's said? Winning isn't everything, but losing isn't anything. You simply *must* stop taking other people's advice. You can fool some of the people some of the time, and that is = sufficient. You have the capacity to learn from mistakes. You will learn a lot = today. Your lucky number is 364958674928. Watch for it everywhere. ---------- fixed by Perrin pleontks(a)hotmail.com http://members.tripod.com/~pleontks http://www.angelfire.com/az/69frank69 ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

1 0

Barry Smith (FBI) to speak this Friday at 3:30pm
by Dr. Alan Sherman 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The UMBC Security Technology Research Group presents A Law-Enforcement Perspective on Encryption Policy Barry Smith Supervisory Special Agent, FBI moderated by journalist Peter Wayner 3:30pm - 5:00pm Friday, March 6, 1998 Lecture Hall III University of Maryland, Baltimore County http://www.cs.umbc.edu/events/spring98/crypto.shtml The second lecture and discussion in a two-part forum on encryption policy. Journalist Peter Wayner will introduce and moderate the event, which is free and open to the public. In Part I, freedom activist John Gilmore and Fritz Fielding (Ex-Associate General Councel, NSA) gave their divergent views, focusing on the Burnstein case. Barry Smith will articulate the needs of law enforcement to conduct lawful wiretaps; he will advocate the use of key-recovery techniques to achieve this end as a way that provides adequate privacy to law-abiding citizens. Schedule: The event will begin with a brief (10 minute) introduction by Peter Wayner. Following Barry Smith's talk, which will last approximately 45 minutes, there will be an opportunity to ask questions for approximately 20-30 minutes. Questions: Attendees are encouraged to ask questions in advance by sending email to sherman(a)cs.umbc.edu Directions: Take Exit #47B off interstate I-95 and follow signs to UMBC. LH III is in the Administration Building, adjacent visitor's parking lot near the I-95 entrance to UMBC. Host: Dr. Alan T. Sherman Associate Professor, Computer Science sherman(a)cs.umbc.edu http://www.umbc.edu (410) 455-2666 This event is held in cooperation with the UMBC Intellectual Sports Council Honors College Phi Beta Kappa honors society CMSC Council of Majors IFSM Council of Majors ACM Student Chapter at UMCP

1 0

Re: DDJ Crypto CD has arrived!
by Unicorn 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- On Mar 02, Random User apparently wrote ----------------------------------- > On Mon, 23 Feb 1998, Peter Trei wrote: > > > Well, it's finally here. > > It has also arrive in Canada. So when will it arrive outside of the US and Canada? ;-) --- and thus sprach: Random User <mctaylor(a)privacy.nb.ca> --------------------- Ciao, Unicorn. -- ======= _ __,;;;/ TimeWaster (GSM: +31 653 261 368) ========================= ,;( )_, )~\| A Truly Wise Man Never Plays PGP: 64 07 5D 4C 3F 81 22 73 ;; // `--; Leapfrog With A Unicorn... 52 9D 87 08 51 AA 35 F0 ==='= ;\ = | ==== Youth is not a time in Life, It is a State of Mind! =======

2 1

Senator plans to ban .gov porn-parodies; new crypto-campaign
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 4 Mar 1998 13:15:35 -0800 (PST) From: Declan McCullagh <declan(a)well.com> To: politech(a)vorlon.mit.edu Subject: Senator plans to ban .gov porn-parodies; new crypto-campaign More on Gates in NYC and the FBI's antihacker crusade is at the URL below. --Declan =========== http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/afternoon/0,1012,1782,00.html The Netly News / Afternoon Line March 4, 1998 Loin-cloth One lawmaker who doesn't seem to have much of a sense of humor about titillating web sites is Sen. Lauch Faircloth (R-N.C.). When his presumably technology-impaired staffer stumbled across whitehouse.com and found not Hillary Clinton's child care proposals but a doctored photo of Hillary in leather, Faircloth decided to take action. "I plan to introduce legislation that would ban the assignment of popular government agency names to anyone," he told The Netly News after speaking at an Internet child safety seminar this afternoon. "Can you imagine how many people have thought they were contacting the White House only to see that?" A better question might be which site is the more popular one. --By Declan McCullagh/Washington Might Makes Right Congress rarely does the right thing for the right reason.Instead, lobbyists vie to make voting the wrong way too politically costly for legislators. Now a new coalition, called Americans for Computer Privacy, is trying out this strategy on encryption legislation. The group of high tech firms and nonprofit groups aims to convince lawmakers that supporting restrictions on either the domestic use or overseas shipment of encryption productions is too politically painful. "We would not turn the keys to our front doors over the government. Why should we have to turn over the keys to our computers?" asked ACP counsel and former White House lawyer Jack Quinn. To convince Americans that ACP's answer is the right one, the coalition has gathered together an advisory panel of former spooks and law enforcement agents. Quinn told the Netly News that his strategy has already won results: "Senior officials at the National Security Council and the vice president's office" this morning signaled they're willing to sit down at the table for a friendly chat about crypto-laws. --By Declan McCullagh/Washington

1 0

DES bitslice S-boxes
by mkwan＠preston.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I've been a bit out of touch with the subject for a while, so could someone please bring me up to speed in the state of the art of DES bitslice. In particular, what are the best gate counts for the S-boxes? About a year ago I produced S-boxes with the following counts S-box S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 Gates 95 84 89 77 96 87 86 88 (You can download them from http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~mkwan/bitslice) However, I was recently told that these have now been beaten by a significant margin. I thought about it for a while, and came up with some ideas that should improve the count, but I'd like to know what I'm aiming for. Any improvements I make will also be made freely available, so you have an incentive to help me ;-) mkwan

1 0

Re: ed yourdon on Y2k armaggedon
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>That said, I'll bet the first taker a dollar against a doughnut that 90% >of U.S. nuke plants sail right through into the new millenium and don't >even trip for any technical reason. (I won't bet against >*political* reasons.) > >Why do I think so? > >Nuke plants are much less computerized than you might think. > >Many still use electromechanical relays to provide important logic >functions. Relays have a lot going for them - for instance you never have >to worry about introduction of stupid software bugs. What about real bugs introducing themselves into relays? :) A few years ago a nuke plant wanted to build a computerized control system and USNRC absolutely gave them hell, requiring them to document every damn line of it and prove that it could handle all special cases. But they did finally approve it.

1 0

Win95/NT attack in CNN news
by David Honig 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9803/04/internet.attack.ap/ Hacker attack crashes Windows systems coast-to-coast March 4, 1998 Web posted at: 10:05 a.m. EST (1505 GMT) SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Computer security experts blame hackers for an Internet attack that caused computers running Microsoft's Windows NT software to crash from coast to coast, mostly in government and university offices. While no real harm was done, it was too early to gauge the full extent of the attack. Experts said the far-flung glitches could only have been the result of a deliberate act, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Wednesday. The crash Monday night affected computers running Windows NT -- the operating system for larger computers and networks -- and Windows 95. Problems were reported at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, the University of Minnesota and University of California campuses in Berkeley, Irvine, Los Angeles and San Diego. Unclassified Navy computers connected to the Internet also crashed on Point Loma and in Charleston, South Carolina, Norfolk, Virginia, and elsewhere. "It happened so fast," said Craig Huckabee, a research associate in the Computer Systems Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin. "In our department, I would have to say about 90 percent of the machines were affected." Despite the coordination of the attack, the computers that crashed could be restarted without losing information, computer security experts said. The attackers used the Internet to broadly distribute a snippet of deliberately malformed data, said Ron Broersma, a civilian computer security expert at the Navy labs on Point Loma. The prank exploits a glitch in the Windows NT program by instructing the computer to devote excessive memory resources to solve a problem that can't be solved. Microsoft security manager Ed Muth said the company is working on a software patch that fixes the vulnerability in Windows NT programs. An unidentified Microsoft executive told the Union-Tribune it was unknown if the attack was related to Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates' appearance Tuesday at a Senate hearing where he defended his company against allegations of antitrust violations. ------------------------------------------------------------ David Honig Orbit Technology honig(a)otc.net Intaanetto Jigyoubu "But if we have to use force, it is because we are America; we are the indispensable nation." ---Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright http://www.jya.com/see-far.htm

2 1

Re: Digital Bearer Settlement
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Nice article, and I'll have to see if I can get Ian to talk about HINDE for this month's Bay Area Cypherpunks. One thing I noticed while reading it, though, is that you still have "and then you go to jail" at the end of some transaction failure branches, though most of the failure branches end with "Nothing happens". While you're not doing book entry at every step, bearer instruments still depend on the maker honoring them, whether it's exchanging the bank note for gold pieces or trading the digicash bits for Federal Reserve Notes -- "then the banker goes to jail" can still happen, and a digicash world may not have as many S&L Bailout political favors as the Reagan Years provided. Also, there are the transactions where you trade digicash for goods&services, and there's still the problem of making sure the goods&services got delivered, making sure the payment got delivered, and dealing with poor quality products. For purely digital products, like consulting hours, movies, and microcode, there are protocols that can take care of the exchange, but for goods&services involving real stuff, like pizza delivery, there's still an element of trust required. Thanks! Bill Bill Stewart, bill.stewart(a)pobox.com PGP Fingerprint D454 E202 CBC8 40BF 3C85 B884 0ABE 4639

2 1