December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

ADDENDUM: BAY AREA CYPHERPUNKS, JUNE 14, AT PGP Inc. IN SAN MATEO
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Please refer to the official announcement at http://www.pgp.com/newsroom/cpunk-info.cgi in case any of the PGP-related details change....

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Re: FCPUNX:Response to 'My War'
by jamesd＠echeque.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

fAt 10:07 PM 6/9/97 -0700, se7en wrote: > Anyone who thinks this doesn't affect the young children, you are wrong. > I doubt these children consented to the sexual activity. I doubt they > consented to being photographed. I doubt they consented to the pictures > being distributed to others. Most of these children are adults now. A great many of them are grandmothers. Yet I see no prosecutions for the distribution of images by the supposed victims. > I am sure this affects the > emotional/psychological state of the child victim in many ways beyond > what most of us can understand. I think we can all agree that is creates > a less-than-optimal psychological state in the children. Produce a victim and you will find it a lot easier to prosecute. --------------------------------------------------------------------- | We have the right to defend ourselves | http://www.jim.com/jamesd/ and our property, because of the kind | of animals that we are. True law | James A. Donald derives from this right, not from the | arbitrary power of the state. | jamesd(a)echeque.com

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Feds have lost battle against encryption
by Bill Frantz 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

There is an editorial in the June 11 San Jose Mercury News titled, "Feds have lost battle against encryption". It mentions the Sun/Elvis+ deal, and representative Goodlatte's bill. It says, "Government warriors should pack up their rusty cannons, admit that they've lost this battle, and learn to live in the 1990s." It speaks favorably of increased sentencing for criminal use of encryption. It says the bill does not go far enough in removing export controls. Try http://www.sjmercury.com for a copy. (I haven't looked, so no guarantees.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill Frantz | The Internet was designed | Periwinkle -- Consulting (408)356-8506 | to protect the free world | 16345 Englewood Ave. frantz(a)netcom.com | from hostile governments. | Los Gatos, CA 95032, USA

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[off-topic] LEA announcement about children & computers (long)
by nobody＠huge.cajones.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Cpunx: For your amusment - nicked from the local Telco web site. I especially enjoy the link between role playing games, satanism and computing. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CHILDREN AND COMPUTERS: THE HIDDEN DANGER Dear Parent: With the never ending development of computer technology and as an increasing number of people become computer literate, it is much more likely that our children may be victimized or exploited in a computer environment. If your child has a home computer (or access to someone elseÆs computer), especially those equipped with a modem, then please take the time to review this guide and become familiar with the behavioural warning signs. It will only take a few minutes and may prevent devastating problems in the future. Keep in mind, however, that no matter how ôawareö you are of these warning signs, the most important safeguard is to monitor the contacts that your children are making in this unrestricted environment and regulate their computer related activities. In addition, do not allow your children to isolate themselves from family or friends by engaging in solitary computer activities for hours on end. A computer should never become a substitute for social interaction. 1984 Government Study TodayÆs children are being weaned on video games and quickly move to computers. Society has high hopes for this technically literate generation, but the proliferation of microcomputers and computer literacy also means that more and more assets will be stored on computer systems and the community of potential computer criminals will increase astronomically. Tips for Safe Computing PARENTS Please advise your children to observe the following safety rules whenever they are ôon-lineö. Remind them that no matter how safe and/or friendly the BBS seems (and this includes the major services as well as the Internet), there is always a potential for danger. They Should: òNever give out any personal information about themselves - particularly full names, addresses, phone numbers, financial information, etc. to anyone they meet on line. òAvoid responding to anyone who leaves them obnoxious, sexual or menacing E-mail. They should not become involved in public ôFlameö sessions as they have no idea who they are dealing with and what access an individual may have to their account information. òReport all electronic harassment and/or abuse to their parents. As parents, you should notify the SYSTEM OPERATOR (SYSOP) of the problem. If the SYSTEM OPERATOR does not give you satisfaction in stopping this abuse, the police should be notified. òNever set up face to face meetings alone with anyone they have met on the BBS. They should always take someone with them and always meet in a public place. òNever have someone come to their house until they get to know them and until they are satisfied that they have given accurate personal information about the individual. òSafeguard all credit card and telephone card numbers. They should pay for BBS services by money order whenever practical. PARENTS: Notify the police of all attempts by adults to set up meetings with your children. This is by far the most dangerous situation for children and should be prosecuted when appropriate. ôThe modern thief can steal more with a computer than with a gun, and tomorrowÆs terrorist may be able to do more damage with a keyboard than with a bombö. National Research Council Washington, D.C. Some Child Behavioural Warning Signs: Computer Addiction òWithdraws from friends, family etc. May lose interest in social activities. òUse of new (unusual) vocabulary, heavy with computer terms, satanic phrase or sexual reference (or sudden interest in related posters, music, etc.) Look for related doodling or writing. òUse of words such as: hacking, phreaking or any words with ôphö replacing ôfö. òLack of interest in self and appearance or indications of lack of sleep, (which might indicate late night modem-play). Other Potential Danger Signs òComputer and modem running late at night (even when unattended). òStoring of computer files ending in: GIF, JPG, MPG, AVI, MOV, BMP, TIF, PCX, DL, GL or unusual CDÆs; these are video or graphic image files and parents should know what they illustrate. òNames on communications programs which seem satanic or pornographic. òObsession with fantasy adventure games, (Dungeons and Dragons, Trade Wars, Sexcapade, etc). òUse of computer to scan or run telephone numbers or credit card numbers, (look for ôsequential diallingö programs). What you can do to Protect your Children Talk to your children about their use of the computer Know What They are Doing òIf possible, keep the computer in a ôcommonö area of your home, such as a family room or den. òYou decide if your child has a legitimate need for a modem. òIf a modem is being used, control the activity by monitoring times used and numbers dialled. Closely Monitor your Long Distance Bill òIf the computer is left running unattended, check the screen. òIf it is showing a series of four digit numbers, the computer is trying to identify calling card ôPINö numbers. òIf it is showing a series of sixteen digit numbers, the computer is trying to validate credit card numbers. òIf you are not computer literate, make sure you at least learn the basics about computers, take a course or have your child teach you. Courtesy of: Chief Alfred O. Olsen Warwick Township Police Department Lititz, Pennsylvania, USA

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[CNN] Stolen Laptops and lame 'solution'
by geeman＠best.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

reproduced under fair-use: > PC, phone home > > Industry aims to stop > theft of laptops > > June 10, 1997 > Web posted at: 11:45 p.m. EDT (0345 GMT) > > From Correspondent Greg > Lefevre > > SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- Expensive, compact and > frequently out and about, a laptop computer makes an attractive > target for thieves. > > But the computer industry has devised some ingenious ways to > counter theft, including invisible software that knows when the > computer is in trouble. > > "As soon as the thief plugs that machine into a phone network, it > will phone home," said John Livingston, chief executive of > CompuTrace Service. > > The call goes to a Canadian office > that in turn phones the cops. So far, > it has a 100 percent recovery rate. > ====== 100% of WHAT? Systems with it installed which are stolen? How would you know what systems do NOT call in? It's like the question the clerk asks at the airport: "Did anyone put anything in your luggage you don't know anything about?" Now that the word is out, of course, the wily thief will eschew pluggin in until the hard drive is reformatted and installed with a clean OS. As usual: the stupid will be caught.

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Unleashing Micro Viruses on Networks
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

6-11-97, Janes' Defence Weekly: Unleashing Microbots on Iran's IT Networks Unlike the 1990-1991 Gulf War, when the USA inserted a National Security Agency-developed, virus-laden microchip into a French computer printer headed for Baghdad, in 2015 the USA relies on several methods for infecting Iranian computers. These efforts hope to get around problems created by the proliferation of encryption technology. While some peripheral equipment, like printers, will be intercepted and bugged in order to disable mainframe computers, intelligence technicians will also use the internet to send guided viruses into Iran's national information infrastructure. Thumbnail-sized micro-robots, known as `microbots', will also be unleashed by micro-air vehicles and naval guns. These parasites will creep into electronic equipment, attach themselves, and keep themselves alive by draining generator power. Once the electronics system's energy is depleted, the fully charged microscopic vermin will search for a new victim. The main problem will be that they are too small to carry identification equipment and so they infect indiscriminately. As such, they must be deployed far away from allied equipment. However, packages of microbots can be destroyed remotely as allies prepare to invade enemy territory. <> [Copyright 1997, Jane's Information Group]

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CORBA Security beta from IONA
by Martin Janzen 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I just received the latest "IonaSphere" newsletter from IONA, makers of the Orbix Object Request Broker (ORB), and noticed this item which may be of interest to some of the people on this list: I28-B> IONA announces beta of CORBA Security Implementation =========================================================== OrbixSecurity enables organizations to deploy their mission-critical distributed systems on multiple platforms securely. It is tightly integrated with IONA's leading object request broker Orbix and facilitates the creation of CORBA level 1 secure distributed component-based applications. In parallel with the development of OrbixSecurity, IONA is also working on a secure socket layer (SSL v3.0) solution. SSL will be bundled in the company's Orbix/OTM enterprise suite of object development and management tools, also scheduled for the third quarter. SSL security offers authentication (based on X.509 certificates) and encryption (based on public and session key technologies). Subsequent to the initial general availability of OrbixSecurity in the third quarter of 1997, IONA will be working towards level 2 security support (which deals mostly with the definition and administration of security policies and domains) via product extensions and third party integrations. Availability The OrbixSecurity beta is available immediately on the Sun Solaris and Windows NT platforms. To participate in the beta program send an e-mail to beta(a)iona.com For more information see http://www.iona.com/Press/PR/security.html (Standard disclaimers: I don't work for these guys, get paid by them, etc...) -- Martin Janzen janzen(a)idacom.hp.com

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Re: [Noise, California only] Good deal on ISDN access
by Derek Atkins 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> When for $150 you can get a brand spanking new 56K modem, and pay $20-30 a > month. Not as fast, but a much better price/performance ratio. Granted, ISDN gives you only twice that of a 56k modem (ISDN gives you 128k), the major benefit of using ISDN over analog is latency. The latency of analog modems is as high as 300ms, whereas the latency of an ISDN link is about 10% of that. MUCH better for real-time interactive connections. It all depends on how you define "performance". If you really want good performance, get MediaOne, RoadRunner, of @Home service. -derek Derek Atkins, SB '93 MIT EE, SM '95 MIT Media Laboratory Member, MIT Student Information Processing Board (SIPB) URL: http://web.mit.edu/warlord/ PP-ASEL N1NWH warlord(a)MIT.EDU PGP key available

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IRS T-Pole Surveillance
by Michael F. Reusch 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>Commerce Business Daily, June 11, 1997 >Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, >6009 Oxon Hill Road, Suite 700, Oxon Hill, MD 20745 >Surveillance Systems SOL TIRNO97R00049 DUE 073097 >POC Contract Specialist, Steve VanderLinden, FAX (202) 283-1514 >The Internal Revenue Service requires enclosed surveillance systems >configured as transformers for mounting on telephone poles.... http://www.ld.com/cbd/archive/1997/06(June)/11-Jun-1997/58sol002.htm Still laughing. Made my day!

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(Fwd) Re: FCPUNX:Response to 'My War'
by Peter Trei 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

William H. Geiger III wrote: > >James A Donald writes: > > >> fAt 10:07 PM 6/9/97 -0700, se7en wrote: > >> > Anyone who thinks this doesn't affect the young children, you are wrong. > >> > I doubt these children consented to the sexual activity. I doubt they > >> > consented to being photographed. I doubt they consented to the pictures > >> > being distributed to others. > >> > >> Most of these children are adults now. A great many of them are > >> grandmothers. Yet I see no prosecutions for the distribution of > >> images by the supposed victims. > >[...] > >> Produce a victim and you will find it a lot easier to prosecute. > > >See http://www.net.be/connerotte/english-text.html for the timeline of > >last year's child sex & porn scandal in Belgium. Some of the victims > >there will never bring suit: they are dead. > > I think that you are missing the most important part of those articles: > > The so-called "protectors of childered" ie government officials were > involved in the kidnaping, rape, and pornography of children and the > subsequent cover-up after the fact. > > If there was ever a need for AP this is it. Mr Donald asked people to produce victims of child porn production, and implied that unless such victims could be found, we should assume that the whole business was consensual fun. I have provided him with proof of such victims. (I'm curious to see how he'll respond). That there was (and for all I know, continues to be) high level collusion within the Belgium government to hush this up is a side issue. While the perpetrators of these atrocities should be given life without parole, I say that AP is not the answer. I object to the death penalty in all circumstances. Peter Trei trei(a)process.com

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