April 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Quarantines may be justified
by Major Variola (ret) 18 Apr '03

18 Apr '03

At 02:55 PM 4/18/03 -0700, Bill Frantz wrote: >FWIF, According to the morning paper, Singapore is using thermal imaging at >the airport to identify people running a fever. Or growing cannabis under their armpits.

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Re: Quarantines may be justified
by Major Variola (ret) 18 Apr '03

18 Apr '03

At 01:04 PM 4/18/03 -0700, Tim May wrote: >On Friday, April 18, 2003, at 09:21 AM, Major Variola (ret) wrote: > >> http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/18/science/sciencespecial/ >> 18INFE.html?ex=1051243200&en=c0c66bc035169a16&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE >> >> They put a police guard on one patient at a hospital and have hired >> private security investigators to check on people in isolation. >I will make what some here will probably think is a totalitarian >sentiment: under extreme conditions, I support quarantine measures. Actually, I was hoping someone would pick up on the "hiring PIs" part. In the US, a PI hired by the State should be subject to the restraints on govt in the Constitution etc. However the US regime frequently hires private entities (e.g., databases, "civilian" CIA activities) to get around this. Maybe its just a staffing issue and the PIs *are* restricted by whatever passes for a constitution in Canada. I think almost everyone will agree with you IFF the quarantines are reasonable --disease is infectious to randoms, untreatable(?), lethal. And the quarantined are reimbursed (else its govt taking). I do have some problems with the police being able to take temperatures of people on the street (though not at the borders), should medicofascism erupt. You have lost an "anarcho" point :-) by supposing a central ruling medical authority. Each burbclave could have its own (contractually enforced) medical rules. The xian scientists who think disease is mental could demonstrate evolution for the rest of us. The ultraworried (think Howard Hughes) communities could ban entry and travel for even mild colds or not-easily-communicable diseases like HIV. You are actually taking the more reasonable (IMHO) minimal govt ("1925") perspective. Decaf today? :-)

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HoneyNet Looks to Stick Hackers
by Tyler Durden 18 Apr '03

18 Apr '03

Anyone know what kind of encryption is being discussed below? (ie, that hackers use to communicate with each other) -TD HoneyNet Looks to Stick Hackers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Online vandals and stalkers beware. A group of security professionals called The HoneyNet Project, has just made it easier for law enforcement to stealthily track the behavior of online evil-doers. On Monday, the volunteer group, which consists of two dozen computer security, information intelligence, and psychology professionals, released the second version of its how-to-build-a-honeynet software, a tool used by law enforcement and others interested in security issues to track the behavior of hackers. For those folks not down with security lingo, a honeynet expands on the concept of a honeypot, a software application that pretends to be a server on the Internet and lures unsuspecting hackers to it. A honeynet is a collection of these honeypots networked together. When hackers (or blackhats, as theyre known in security circles) enter the honeynet, they are watched closely by a combination of surveillance technologies. Youre really playing with fire in this type of environment, says Lance Spitzner, a security architect at Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW - message board) and founder of the four-year old HoneyNet Project. The whole point is to observe the bad guys as they go about their work in a controlled setting without them knowing it. The way it works is an intrusion-detection system triggers a virtual alarm whenever an attacker breaches security on one of the networked computers. Meanwhile, an administrator watches everything the intruder types, from commands to emails to chat sessions. A separate firewall is set up to cut the hacker off from the Internet anytime he tries to attack another system from the honeynet. Proponents say the latest HoneyNet release includes the following improvements over previous versions: The software is prepackaged for easy setup and comes for installation on a single server. A new utility called Honey Inspector, which will be released soon, will allow honeypots within the honeynet to be managed and analyzed through a graphical user interface. Eventually, the HoneyNet Project expects to release a bootable CD-ROM that will make installing its version of a honeynet even easier. Software includes improvements for breaking encryption codes that hackers often use to communicate with each other. The designers claim to have made it harder for hackers to detect that theyve been lured into a honeynet. In the previous version of software, all the surveillance was done at Layer 3. Hackers had to pass through a Layer 3 gateway when entering the honeynet, which often tipped them off to what was happening. But now HoneyNet uses a Layer 2 bridging gateway, making any surveillance invisible to the hacker. The upgrade includes an enhanced firewall that blocks harmful attacks, while still allowing hackers to communicate with their associates outside the honeynet. The longer we can keep them in the honeynet without them realizing what is going on, the more information we can gather, says Spitzner. We want them talking to their buddies on the Internet, but we dont want them causing anymore harm. So are the Honeynet Project volunteers some sort of cyber police force? Not at all. The not-for-profit groups only purpose is to observe and learn about hacker behavior and share that information with the public. Thats not to say that the information and tools gathered cant be used to catch bad guys. Government agencies like the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) already use HoneyNet Project information and techniques in their work. The HoneyNet Project is not designed for commercial use, according to Spitzner. He says it wouldnt make much sense for an enterprise to spend the resources to build such a network. But network security might use the tools to learn more about hackers and recommend strategies to clients. All software on the HoneyNet Project Website is free to download by anyone. For more information, go to The HoneyNet Project. Marguerite Reardon, Senior Editor, Light Reading _________________________________________________________________ Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

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Who needs Padilla when you have FedEx?
by Major Variola (ret) 18 Apr '03

18 Apr '03

Date and Place--January 2, 2002, Federal Express facility at New Orleans International Airport, in Kenner, Louisiana. Nature and Probable Consequences--A package containing iridium-192 (Ir-192) with elevated surface radiation levels was discovered at the Federal Express facility located at the New Orleans airport. The package was identified as a routine shipment for Source Production and Equipment Company (SPEC), located in St. Rose, Louisiana. The total activity was 366 terabecquerels (TBq) (9893 curies (Ci)). [IE the activity of 9 kilos of radium-226] http://cryptome.org/nrc041803.txt (look for SAFKEG)

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[1st amend] Boycott Wal-Mart: They pressured a web site to close
by Major Variola (ret) 18 Apr '03

18 Apr '03

A website that urged visitors to lower prices for grocery items by substituting bar codes shut itself down after pressure from Wal-Mart. The site's operators, a group of tech-savvy political activists, decided to close the site Wednesday after contacts between their lawyer and those of Wal-Mart <http://www.walmart.com>, the world's largest retailer. http://wired.com/news/business/0,1367,58528,00.html

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Re: Future Realities Discussed - WLG
by Bill O'Hanlon 18 Apr '03

18 Apr '03

On Fri, Apr 18, 2003 at 12:04:00AM +0000, Wilfred(a)Cryogen.com wrote: > > > The real reason I've been trying to establish a comprehensive knowledgebase of human competance. Having only been suppressed and prevented by political, corporate, religious, social organizations, and related evils. > > -Wilfred > Wilfred(a)Cryogen.com > Twirlip of the Ice: Hexapodia is the key insight.

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[speak-freely] (#62) initialization vector - weak crypto ? (fwd)
by Thomas Shaddack 17 Apr '03

17 Apr '03

This is what I feared of, and what I hoped someone from here will figure out sooner... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2003 00:55:10 +0200 (MEST) Subject: [speak-freely] (#62) initialization vector - weak crypto ? From: Speak Freely Forum <sfforum(a)fourmilab.ch> To: speak-freely(a)fourmilab.ch Message posted to the Speak Freely Forum by anon on Fri, 18 Apr 2003 00:55:10 +0200 (MEST). http://www.fourmilab.ch/wb/speak-freely.pl?rev=62 It seems that for each CBC packet the same initialization vector 0 is used! This likely weakens the crypto and might enable an attacker to break the encryption: According to rfc2405/rfc2451 the IV in CBC-mode must not be predictable.

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Experts say looters had keys to Iraqi antiquity vaults
by R. A. Hettinga 17 Apr '03

17 Apr '03

Autovandalism: Wherein the Iraqui Ancien Regime "loots" itself... It looks like the guys with the keys stole the stuff they already stole in the first place. The museum hasn't been open in 15 years, so who knows what was really there, and most of the stuff that wasn't copied elsewhere was copies anyway. Now, hopefully, the rest is on the open market, where it belongs. At the very least, the stuff should have been auctioned off to pay the Iraqi debt, anyway. Saying that that stuff was the patrimony of three different kinds of Arabs was like saying that Kennewick Man wasn't a Caucasian. Cheers, RAH ------- <http://www.boston.com/news/daily/17/war_iraqmuseums.htm> Boston Globe Experts say looters had keys to Iraqi antiquity vaults By Associated Press, 4/17/03 PARIS -- Some of the looters who ravaged Iraqi antiquities had keys to museum vaults and were able to take pieces from safes, experts said Thursday at an international meeting. The U.N. cultural agency, UNESCO, gathered some 30 art experts and cultural historians in Paris on Thursday to assess the damage to Iraqi museums and libraries looted in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion. Although much of the looting was haphazard, experts said some of the thieves clearly knew what they were looking for and where to find it, suggesting they were prepared professionals. "It looks as if part of the looting was a deliberate planned action," said McGuire Gibson, a University of Chicago professor and president of the American Association for Research in Baghdad. "They were able to take keys for vaults and were able to take out important Mesopotamian materials put in safes." Cultural experts, curators and law enforcement officials are scrambling to track down the missing antiquities and prevent further looting of the valuables. The pillaging has ravaged the irreplaceable Babylonian, Sumerian and Assyrian collections that chronicled ancient civilization in Mesopotamia, and the losses have triggered an impassioned outcry in cultural circles. Many fear the stolen artifacts have been absorbed into highly organized trafficking rings that ferry the goods through a series of middlemen to collectors in Europe, the United States and Japan. Officials at the UNESCO meeting at its headquarters in Paris said the information was still too sketchy to determine exactly what was missing and how many items were unaccounted for. But they were united in calling for quick action to track down the pilfered items. "I have a suspicion it was organized outside the country, in fact I'm pretty sure it was," said Gibson. He added that if a good police team was put together, "I think it could be cracked in no time." Koichiro Matsuura, director-general of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, began the meeting Thursday by calling for a U.N. resolution imposing a temporary embargo on trade in Iraqi antiquities. Matsuura said it was urgent to repair the antiquities that remain and to keep them from the hands of those who traffic in the lucrative market of stolen objects. "It is always difficult, when communities are facing the consequences of an armed conflict ... to plead the case for the preservation of the cultural heritage," Matsuura said. Matsuura said he would ask U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to seek a resolution against illicit trafficking that would also impose an embargo "for a limited period" on the acquisition of Iraqi cultural objects. Such a resolution would also call for the return of such items to Iraq, he said. In addition, Matsuura said the establishment of a nationwide "heritage police" was necessary to watch over cultural sites and institutions. Such a force could be set up by "the authorities on the ground," an apparent reference to U.S. and British forces in Baghdad. He reiterated a call for governments to adopt emergency legal and administrative measures to prevent the importing of objects from Iraq, and to make sure museums and art dealers refuse transactions in such objects. A database of all cultural objects needs to be quickly established so police, museums, customs authorities can act against any traffickers, he said. -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah(a)ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.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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Unredacting With Smoke & Mirrors & Google, Paranoids, Israeli Art Spies
by Major Variola (ret) 17 Apr '03

17 Apr '03

17 April 2003

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Re: Key Republican Not Sure on Patriot Act
by Major Variola (ret) 17 Apr '03

17 Apr '03

At 10:05 AM 4/17/03 -0400, Tyler Durden wrote: > >Which is why we're lookin' at Syria next. > Speaking of which, Syria pulled an excellent counter to the US bullying. "No WMD in the middle east". Who could object to that, and who would their owners be, and who could fail to see that? And if the US actually does something military (agreed, there's a decent chance of that) then Osama wins bigtime. Checkmate. ... We have always been at war with Oceania bin Laden

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