December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: FYI: More on WebTV security
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text X-Sender: dstoler(a)gptmail.globalpac.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 05:38:59 -0700 To: Pablo Calamera <pablo(a)microsoft.com>, rah(a)shipwright.com, mac-crypto(a)vmeng.com From: dstoler(a)globalpac.com (dstoler) Subject: Re: FYI: More on WebTV security Cc: jimg(a)mentat.com Dear all, This message discusses Microsoft's recent press release where they announce unlimited 128 bit RC4 export approval for WebTV users in Japan and the UK with no key escrow. They announce secure email between WebTV users in addition to security for financial services, web shopping, etc. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/1998/Oct98/EncryptionPR.htm (See the end of this message for key paragraphs of the press release.) I rarely post messages on the crypto mailing lists. I am sufficiently disturbed by Microsoft's recent WebTV press release that I feel compelled to comment. The press release implies that there is secure end-to-end email between two WebTV customers. Perhaps I am overly cynical, but I am guessing that they are using SSL (TLS) from a web based email application on the client to WebTV's servers. I presume email data is decrypted at the servers, then re-encrypted to the recipient when she uses the WebTV client to read email. This approach would allow access to private email at the servers by WebTV employees or law enforcement agencies. Note the careful use of the phrases "unauthorized party" and "without posing undo risks to national security and law enforcement" in the press release. I believe that WebTV's email security is directly coupled to their ability to establish and enforce good security policy within their operation and the trustworthiness of the employees who have access to sensitive data. I am concerned that carefully constructed wording of Microsoft's press release implies stronger email security than really exists. I hope I am wrong. David Stoler Key paragraphs from Microsoft's press release: WebTV Networks has been granted the first export license to use strong 128-bit encryption for any user and any application in Japan and the United Kingdom. So, for example, an e-mail message with personal information sent from a WebTV subscriber in Japan to a second WebTV subscriber in Japan will be sent securely because there is no known technology by which an unauthorized party could intercept and decipher it. Therefore, as part of the WebTV Network, the WebTV-based Internet terminal (starting at under $100) is now the most secure communications device available from a U.S. company. "WebTV Networks' export approval is a significant step for industry and reflects the U.S. government's commitment to promoting e-commerce abroad," said William Reinsch, U.S. undersecretary for export administration. "The WebTV Network provides secure communications for its customers and partners without posing undue risks to national security and law enforcement." --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: rah(a)philodox.com> Philodox Financial Technology Evangelism <http://www.philodox.com/> 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'

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_PI_ movie
by Walter Burton 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

My wife and I went and saw the movie _PI_ this past weekend. I was attracted to it 'cause of the subject matter. One reviewer wrote that the protagonist was a "tortured genius steeped in an intriguing blend of advanced mathematics and mystical Jewish cabala." I suspect a fair number of cypherpunks' curiosity would be piqued by such a description. Well, don't waste the 5 bucks. It's self-indulgent, pretentious, second-year-film-student crap. It's whiny, "woe-is-me-tortured-genius" drivel. It's "squinty-cinematography-for-the-sake-of-squinty-cinematography" effluvium. Here's the plot, in a nutshell: 1. Ah, I understand advanced mathematics SO WELL; I see patterns EVERYwhere! But alas, I cannot enjoy life's pleasures because I am, de rigueur, a TORTURED GENIUS! 2. And my mentor USED to be a TORTURED GENIUS, but he stopped studying THE PROFOUND MYSTERIES, and now he's happy and FUN! What a WUSS! [Oh yeah, and I suffer REALLY bad migraines.] 3. Isn't PI cool? 4. Aren't Fibonacci numbers neat? 5. Whaddya suppose The Holy Unspeakable Name of God is? 6. Oh, easy, it's 9049348384737...[insert 198 digits here]...32343. 7. I RUSH to tell my mentor what I've discovered, but, alas, my ruthless taunting prompted him to re-open his investigation of THE PROFOUND MYSTERIES and he couldn't hack it -- his brain overloaded and he died of a stroke. Damn! 8. So I dramatically BURN all my PROFOUND MYSTERIES conclusions and the director inserts the requisite "shocking scene everyone will be talking about" by having me lobotomize myself with an electric drill. 9. Next, I'm sitting on a park bench, playing games with a child (Quintessential Innocence). I am finally ENJOYING LIFE, appreciating the leaves on the trees and such. But this kid, she wants to play math games with me, which of course symbolizes the fact that IT'S NOT OVER! 10. The end. And it's all shot on shitty stock in crackly black and white. So basically, it's about two gay cowboys and some pudding. \\/alter

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Crypto Laxatives
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Senators Lott and Kerrey have made crypto core dumps in recent days: http://jya.com/lott100998.txt http://jya.com/kerrey101298.txt Lott says 56-bit crypto is bad, and recites its weaknesses, reading a script he doesn't know shit about, hair and mind immutably fixatived. Kerrey Lincoln Monuments long dead Nat sec with Info Tech faux marbre, frutilessly limoing around DC torrist piles looking for The American People, while Super-Coifed Cohen aimlessly sends Cold War B52s to PR-bomb Menwith Hill targets -- unruly wildhair ups -- protecting what Kerrey can't find. Clinton and Yeltsin will shortly morph into Serbian hair ball.

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Re: Soccer Moms?
by Jim Gillogly 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Ken Brown wonders about this phrase: >> After all, the kind of soccer moms who elected Bill Clinton >"Divided by a common language" as I am I genuinly don't know what that >means. And I can't even guess from context. "Soccer moms" are the suburban mothers who efficiently perform any number of child-rearing tasks, including taking their kids in a sports utility vehicle (an awful invention) to soccer practice. Soccer is increasingly popular and available to girls as well as boys. Women in general favored Clinton, and soccer moms in particular are the women most likely to vote... since they're doing everything else, working in a trip to the polls is nothing to them. Probably sounds as arcane as "Sloane Rangers" does over here, eh? -- Jim Gillogly Sterday, 22 Winterfilth S.R. 1998, 15:20 12.19.5.10.15, 6 Men 8 Yax, Eighth Lord of Night

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Crescendo News - October 1998
by LiveUpdate News 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

CRESCENDO NEWS - October 1998 Well, we're back from Internet World, and have a lot of exciting things to let you know about! The foliage in Massachusetts is finally turning color, the air is crisp, and it's almost time to start thinking about tuning up the snowboard. Here are some of the items covered in this newsletter: * Paula Cole's "I Don't Want To Wait" streams with Crescendo Forte * Crescendo Forte featured at Fall Internet World * Behind the scenes - how to create Crescendo Forte music * EP Release by Crescendo Forte artist "Gigi" * What is a "SYSX"? * Powerful authoring tools available in our online store * Subscribing / Unsubscribing ---------------------------------- PAULA COLE STREAMS WITH CRESCENDO FORTE Have you visited the Crescendo Forte Showcase lately? The latest addition to our growing showcase is the Crescendo Forte version of Paula Cole's hit single "I Don't Want To Wait". This is a historic event - Paula has become the first major artist *ever* to have her content featured using Crescendo Forte. As the winner of the 1998 Grammy for "Best New Artist", Cole's latest album "This Fire" has fostered three major singles including "I Don't Want To Wait," which has been pegged as the theme to the new hit TV series, Dawson's Creek. KizoMusic produced this incredible demo using Crescendo Forte to add high-quality drums, piano, and bass guitar to a RealAudio-encoded version of the original cut from the CD. You don't need anything more than a 28.8 modem and a Pentium-class PC to enjoy both the video and audio versions of this song. See and hear it for yourself at the Crescendo Forte Showcase, http://www.liveupdate.com/cforte/showcase.html. ---------------------------------- CRESCENDO FORTE FEATURED AT FALL INTERNET WORLD At the Fall Internet World conference earlier this month in New York City, standing-room-only crowds watched on and listened as RealNetworks presented the latest technology for music broadcast on the Internet. Featured in their presentation was Crescendo Forte, playing a video clip from Paula Cole. If you weren't able to make it to Internet World, you can still see and hear the Paula Cole clip by visiting the Crescendo Forte Showcase at http://www.liveupdate.com/cforte/showcase.html. ---------------------------------- BEHIND THE SCENES - HOW TO CREATE CRESCENDO FORTE MUSIC So your band has a CD to promote and you want to make the highest quality presentation over the Internet? RealSystem G2 and Crescendo Forte together deliver a rich listening experience requiring very low bandwidth. Learn how to take your existing music and publish it using Crescendo Forte with our new step-by-step production guide, available on-line at http://www.liveupdate.com/cforte/authoring.html. When you're done, send us your files for review and we may feature your music on the Crescendo Forte Showcase area! ---------------------------------- CD RELEASE BY CRESCENDO FORTE ARTIST "GIGI" If you liked what you heard from Gigi in the Crescendo Forte Showcase, you'll love her new 6-song CD! Part of Crescendo Forte's appeal is that it allows less-well-known acts such as Gigi to get broad exposure. To thank all of you for listening to her music, she has agreed to distribute her new CD, "Tinted Window", which contains full studio productions of her songs that are highlighted on the showcase, for just $6.95 including shipping & handling. Order on-line today at https://secure.liveupdate.com, and you'll receive the CD by mail, so that you can enjoy her music both on and off-line. ---------------------------------- WHAT IS A "SYSX"? You have probably seen an option in the Crescendo pull-down menu titled "Enable SYSEX Messages", and might have wondered what the option means. Crescendo PLUS supports playback of System Exclusive (SYSX) messages. Ever wonder how that General MIDI song you downloaded automatically configures delay, reverb, distortion, and patch edits while it plays? MIDI files use embedded SYSX messages to control synthesizer settings. Crescendo PLUS will detect and send these hidden SYSX messages to your synthesizer or sound card. Many commercially manufactured MIDI files contain SYSX messages, so you may not hear what the MIDI musician intended until you get Crescendo PLUS. Crescendo PLUS is available for $19.95 at our on-line store, https://secure.liveupdate.com. Get it now, and hear what you've been missing! ---------------------------------- POWERFUL AUTHORING TOOLS AVAILABLE IN CRESCENDO ONLINE STORE With the right tools, you can be a Crescendo composer. The Crescendo PLUS Roland Edition for Windows 95/98 has everything you need to create and play great music on the Internet. Here's what you get: *Cakewalk Express - record, edit, mix, and publish your own MIDI files *Do Re Mix - drag and drop ready-made musical parts to create instant songs *Crescendo PLUS for Internet Explorer and Netscape - play streaming music over the Internet *Virtual Sound Canvas software synthesizer - Orlando's wavetable instrument sounds for your PC *Plus over 100 ready-made MIDI song files to use in your productions The Crescendo PLUS Roland Edition, with all of the above, is available for $65, including shipping and handling! Visit http://www.liveupdate.com/soundcanvas.html for more details, or to order now. ---------------------------------- SUBSCRIBING / UNSUBSCRIBING You're receiving this email because you downloaded Crescendo in the past, and we want to keep you up to date with some of the exciting things that are happening at LiveUpdate. We hope you are enjoying Crescendo! Note: Messages from LiveUpdate to this list will not be sent any more frequently than once a month, and your information has not, and will not, be given to others or sold. If you wish to unsubscribe from this list, or if this message has been forwarded to you by a friend and you would like to subscribe to our newsletter, please send a message to newsletter(a)liveupdate.com. ******************************************* Spread the Music!

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Re: FBI to inaugurate national DNA database
by Ernest Hua 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I'm not talking about whether the FBI/NSA is setting us up politically; they may very well be doing just that. The point is that we need to win wars by winning battles, but it's hard to win battles by sticking to absolute principles and eventually third parties looking no longer find you credible. If we can stick to pointing out just how similar GAK/KR is to cameras in every bedroom, then we can win the battles and the war. If we just stick to either we get 100% of what we want or we don't want it, then the FBI/NSA can manipulate the public into thinking that we would never agree to anything the FBI/NSA wants. Remember ... we don't have what we want yet ... despite some of the rhetoric on this list, and the FBI/NSA is trying to win a war of attrition. Ern -----Original Message----- From: Brown, R Ken <brownrk1(a)texaco.com> To: cypherpunks(a)cyberpass.net <cypherpunks(a)cyberpass.net>; 'Ernest Hua' <hua(a)teralogic-inc.com> Date: Tuesday, October 13, 1998 2:56 AM Subject: RE: FBI to inaugurate national DNA database >> I think it would be a very bad idea for civil liberties >> groups to come out 100% against this. So far all they >> have said is that they intend to log all convicted criminals. >> If the C.L. groups complain about that, then it would be too >> easy for the FBI to turn around and say, "Geez! These guys >> complain about anything and everything we do!" > >I think you are falling for the old bazaar bargaining trick. The guy >wants to sell you a carpet that is worth a shekel. He reckons he can do >you for ten shekels. So he starts the bidding at a hundred and you >think you've done well when you've beaten him down to fifteen. America >is - cypherpunks tell me - a country where people worry about their >social security number being kept on databases, where caller id on >phones can be a hot political issue. This DNA business is far more >intrusive and dangerous than any of that. Don't fall for it! > >Don't fall for the argument that it is only the bad guys who get tagged. >They can define anyone they want as a bad guy. How many people do you >know who have never done anything for which they could be convicted as a >criminal? Never driven a car faster then the speed limit, never smoked >dope, never ridden a bicycle on the pavement, never been drunk in a >public place? To a large extent the set of "convicted criminals" is >governed by police or court decisions rather than by the actions of the >criminals. > >Over here in Britain we've had a long succession of intrusive, abusive >laws promulgated in the name of public safety, law and order, peace on >the streets. The previous government had their absurd "dangerous dogs >act" which became a laughing stock before the ink was dry then their >horrendous and evil "Criminal Justice Bill" with racist provisions >allowing the police to persecute travellers and uttely useless laws >against "music with repetitive beats" not to mention new rules to >control "young offenders, bailed persons, squatters, travellers, >ravers, protesters, trespassers, arrested persons, defendants, >hunt-saboteurs, pornographers, video pirates, obscene telephone-callers, >prisoners, racists, terrorists, ticket touts, cannabis-smokers, serious >fraudsters and not forgetting gay men under 18." > >The current lot aren't as bad, and are certainly more well-intentioned >but they haven't repealed any of the earlier stuff and are, bit by bit, >filling in the few gaps in the wall of regulation and legislation the >Tories built around anyone who wasn't a middle-aged white man who >worked 9 to 5, living in a suburb with a car and a mortgage, who never >went out. > >Our current Home Secretary (cabinet minister with responsibility for >police anong other things) was probably the first person in such a >position in any major country who was brought up by a single mother on a >violent estate (what you'd call a housing project in America) and he >thinks he knows - no he *does* know - what most ordinary people in >environments like that want from life. So he proposes law after law to >make things better, to tell people how they ought to live, all with the >best of intentions. Curfews for children (you ask questions and he will >just come back at you and say "do you *really* think 9-year-old children >should be wandering around on their own at night, or in gangs?" to which >the honest answer is "no, but it's none of your business if they do"). >Compulsory parenting education for parents whose children commit >crimes. A national register of paedophiles - which is made public, so a >couple of convicted child abusers, on being released from jail asked to >be taken back in again because their life wasn't safe outside. Defining >email that goes outside the country as "export" so that writing about >bombs (or cryptography?) can come under the strategic arms export >regulations. And so on. > >And all the while local councils put up cameras in every high street...

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Re: What it's like to get a subpoena (re Toto) (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 21:14:41 +0100 > From: Adam Back <aba(a)dcs.ex.ac.uk> > Subject: Re: What it's like to get a subpoena (re Toto) > Perhaps they lack proof that the message in question was sent to the > list, very little is signed, and Toto surrounded himself with > forgeries. True, there is also the issue of SMTP forgeries. Since there is no host authentication your security is as strong as your trust. His signing the message raises some interesting issues, especialy with the subsequent developments related to signature strength. > Not that it makes much difference that I can see -- the issue is > surely whether CJ wrote the post, and whether the post and the AP > mockup constitutes a credible threat. (That they apparently think > Toto's AP mockup was credible shows a lack of understanding). The officers I talked to in person admitted to not knowing about Bell or AP. Their interest seemed to be related solely to issues about threats to specific individuals or locations within the IRS infrastructure. My impression was that from their perspective this was just another subpeona delivery and interview. They each had a list of questions/notes and they basicly looked to be going down the list and filling in blanks. > I don't see why they're bothering you, I wonder if the other majordomo > operators have received, or shortly will receive similar visits. I raised the same issue with the agent in Seattle via phone. He seemed to comprehend the mundane role a mailing list operator leads, especialy since I don't keep archives nor moderate the traffic. He was at least willing to discuss depositions and such. If luck is on my side they'll let me explain how SSZ works in regards the CDR as well as what Toto/CJ/aka said to me directly via phone and in person. > Perhaps we could send archive URLs to Jeff Gordon. I made sure to explain how to get Cypherpunks archives via Yahoo with the two agents this morning. I also explained the very ad hoc nature of participation in the CDR and why users come and go. I even got to explain how the remailer works by using an example involving a spammer. They were quite clear on what a spammer was and how they distribute traffic. > > Please don't call or send private email requesting further > > details. They didn't ask me to keep any of our discussion > > confidential but until I better understand what is going on I'm > > taking the conservative course (I had a big fight with myself about > > whether to even post this). > > Well thanks for making it. I say make it all public, FWIW. I agree in principle. Now whether particular circumstances will allay their wills to mine is another issue entirely. In particular since I'm going to be testifying before a grand jury in Washington state versus Texas is something that tells me I don't know all the ground rules possibly. Especialy since I can't have a lawyer present during questioning (and I thought the only stipulation with council was a value exceeding $20), that bothers my Constitutional constitution more than I care to admit. ____________________________________________________________________ To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice. Confucius The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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New Technologies for Espionage
by Tim May 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

It seems that the "old technologies" are approaching their end. This guy got caught by having too many physical contacts: -- walking into the Soviet embassy (well-known to be under surveillance) -- presumably using dead drops to exchange documents and money -- relying on a physical contact with an unknown person (whom he thought to be KGB, incorrectly) Digital dead drops and digital cash will eventually revolutionize spying. The digital dead drops are here now, though not the digital cash. --Tim May Tuesday October 13 11:49 AM EDT Ex-U.S. Army Analyst Arrested On Spy Charges WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former U.S. Army intelligence analyst has been arrested on charges of spying for Russia by allegedly passing to KGB agents highly classified documents from 1988 to 1991, federal law enforcement officials said Tuesday. They said David Sheldon Boone, who worked for the military's super-secret National Security Agency, was scheduled to appear in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, later Tuesday. According to the criminal complaint, Boone, who was arrested Saturday, began spying in 1988 after he walked into the Soviet embassy in Washington and volunteered his services. He was charged with meeting his Russian handler about four times a year between late 1988 and when he retired from the Army in 1991. Boone allegedly was paid more than $60,000 for the highly sensitive, top-secret documents he gave them. He allegedly gave the Russians documents about the capabilities and movements of Soviet forces and about Soviet tactical nuclear weapons. He also allegedly gave the Russians a document based on information that the National Security Agency, which conducts eavesdropping operations around the world, had intercepted. Boone was arrested after he was contacted in September by an individual who worked on behalf of the FBI, but whom he believed to be a Russian agent. According to the complaint, he had agreed to resume his espionage activities.

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RE: INTERNET STOCKWATCH! I S M R
by wllstrtmore＠digisys.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Company: Internet Stock Market Resources Symbol: I S M R Price: 2 1/4 ($2.25/share) " I S M R is evolving into one of the internet's main financial web portals not unlike E*Trade in its future potential." As a featured stock in both Success and Opportunist magazines and as a content partner with Time Warner's Web TV I S M R is rated a "VERY STRONG BUY". For more information on I S M R go to: http://quote.yahoo.com/ plxII7.

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17 Dec '03

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