May 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Extent of UK snooping revealed
by Tyler Durden 29 May '03

29 May '03

>Yes, this is a somewhat interesting problem - probably not that difficult >considering that the goal here is to create plausible deniability in a >setting like a court of law. Generating traffic patterns that convince >other crytpographers (or even sysadmins) is much harder than generating >traffic patterns that simply create reasonable doubt. >>Also, unless you have some very odd friends, user activity will >>vary in statistically likely ways over time, so the ideal system >>would "randomly" compensate for that. I've only caugfht the tail end of this, but from what I can understand some of this might be overkill. Let's imagine you're an ISP that "sells" privacy in your customers' surfing. So you make your server regularly go get random webpages so that your customers have a cloak of privacy, and this is what you tell the court. (Provided, of course, they have some way to 'prove' that the traffic into and out of your server is fake traffic!) In these kinds of scenarios, 'realistic' web traffic might be unneccessary. (Or maybe there's some other 'cover' story such as the need to update weblinks or whatever...) Or do I misunderstand here? -TD >From: John Kozubik <john(a)kozubik.com> >To: ken <bbrow07(a)students.bbk.ac.uk> >CC: cypherpunks <cypherpunks(a)lne.com> >Subject: Re: Extent of UK snooping revealed >Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 10:36:23 -0700 (PDT) > >On Wed, 28 May 2003, ken wrote: > > > John Kozubik wrote: > > > > > d) set up an automated script on the server that _constantly_ fetches > > > random web pages, thus creating a constant stream of http traffic in >and > > > out of the server, again diminishing traffic patterns. Log the actual > > > proxy requests in some temporary fashion and randomly hit those web >sites > > > in an automated fashion throughout the day, regardless of whether >someone > > > is requesting them through the proxy or not...and then, script a >constant > > > stream of requests to the proxy as well > > > > Fun & difficult part is setting up fetching of "random" web pages > > that looks like real user activity. > >Yes, this is a somewhat interesting problem - probably not that difficult >considering that the goal here is to create plausible deniability in a >setting like a court of law. Generating traffic patterns that convince >other crytpographers (or even sysadmins) is much harder than generating >traffic patterns that simply create reasonable doubt. > > > Also, unless you have some very odd friends, user activity will > > vary in statistically likely ways over time, so the ideal system > > would "randomly" compensate for that. > >Exactly. The ideal system would monitor in and outbound: > >- web requests >- bytes transferred >- bytes per page >- pictures per page >- binary files transferred >- (all of those) / second > >and generate pseudo-random browsing to smooth these variables over time. >Perhaps a script that chose random word pairs from the dictionary, googled >them, and browsed the pages that were returned would be a good platform. > >----- >John Kozubik - john(a)kozubik.com - http://www.kozubik.com _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus

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CNN.com - Divided court rules for police on Miranda - May. 27, 2003 (fwd)
by Jim Choate 29 May '03

29 May '03

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/05/27/scotus.miranda.questioning/index.html -- ____________________________________________________________________ We are all interested in the future for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. Criswell, "Plan 9 from Outer Space" ravage(a)ssz.com jchoate(a)open-forge.org www.ssz.com www.open-forge.org --------------------------------------------------------------------

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Well it looks like pigs can now force you to incriminate yourself (legally even)
by Thoenen, Peter CIV Sprint 29 May '03

29 May '03

For your enjoyment. http://edition.cnn.com/2003/LAW/05/27/scotus.miranda.questioning/index.html http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&navby=case&vol=00… CNN writeup seems to suggest that police no longer need to inform you of your rights (Miranda) and warn you against self incrimination. While the justices state this ruling does not condone law enforcement abuses to force your to incriminate yourself, we all know how easily abuse is covered up or just blatantly ignored. "But justices also concluded the suspect may be able to collect damages because his due process rights were violated during a hospital room interrogation. That part of the ruling was sent back to a lower federal court for further consideration." Does this even need to get reported, we all know how the lower court will rule, no damages. It seems the government finally feels it no longer needs to at least keep up the pretense of a fair and civil society. -Peter STANDARD DISCLAIMER: This is solely the personnel opinion of Peter Thoenen and in no way condoned by Sprint or the US Government.

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Unintended Consequences of Anti-Spam (A.U.C.E) Laws
by Tim May 29 May '03

29 May '03

I hate being sucked into this ongoing spam debate, but there are just so many deeply wrong-headed memes floating around on this issue, and so much obvious chance for government mischief and intrusion, that I cannot resist adding more comments. Item: State of California has just passed a law criminalizing certain kinds of speech, that is, something some legislators and judges deem to be "unwanted commercial messages." Other states passing similar laws. Talk of RICO prosecutions, seizure of assets, the usual War on Some Drugs kind of nonsense. Item: How long before corporations cite spam laws to stop shareholders and customers from organizing campaigns against the corporations? If the CEO of McDonald's receives 10,000 letters from angry customers, is this spam? (I'll bet some of the major uses of the spam laws is along these lines, a kind of version of SLAPP suits (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). Item: Or is there some exemption for "political and social speech"? (I haven't consulted the spam laws, but I assume there is some weasel language about "nothing in this legislation shall be construed to interfere with political advocacy....") And yet some of the most obnoxious messages I receive are NRA spam messages--they and other pro-gun groups have me on their mass mailing lists. Should they be allowed to send this spam? Or will some causes be judged politically incorrect? Is it OK to send thousands of spam pictures of aborted foetuses to abortion advocates? Item: How about religion? Item: If either political advocacy or religion is exempted, then spammers can insert religious messages into their spam. "Hello, I am Monsignor Ubalong N'fasti, Chief Prelate of the Catholic Church in Lagos, Nigeria. I am in urgent need of your assistance in continuing God's work in our country..." Item: Spammers can exploit _any_ exemption in the legislation for religion, political advocacy, environmental advocacy, etc. Having legislators or judges or ministerial-level bureaucrats deciding which messages are "exempt from spam laws" and which are not would be a free speech disaster. And so on. There are no good reasons for letting government decide which speech is political, which is advocacy, what is truth and what is not. --Tim May, Citizen-unit of of the once free United States " The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. "--Thomas Jefferson, 1787

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RSA/DSA questions
by Damian Gerow 29 May '03

29 May '03

(I'll admit it, I'm a crypto weenie. I know enough to spell RSA and DSA correctly, and that's about it.) Does anyone have any pointers to informative papers (especially analyses and critiques) to RSA and DSA in particular, and in general, signature algorithms? The only page I've found is in the RSA Labs FAQ, and (obviously) digs into DSA. A co-worker is generating some SSH keys, and it's been some time since I actually looked into either algorithm. PuTTY recommends you avoid DSA, which was a bit of a surprise to me, and prompted this thus-far fruitless search for comparisons/critiques.

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Re: Nigerian Spammers Using TDD/TTY Telephone Relay Service
by Tyler Durden 29 May '03

29 May '03

Tim May wrote: "...anti-spam legislation." (uh, do I have to explicitly state that May didn't support such legislation in his original post?) Retailiation, like legislation seems pointless to me, though since our troops are now in Afghanistan, Saudi, Iraq, Cuba, Korea, Germany and so on, I see no reason we can't eventually send a local delegation of this defacto worldwide government to crack down on Nigerian spammers, who will soon probably be declared terrorists. What I wonder is why this isn't solved in a cyber-streetfight. If people get sick enough with spam I figure a good big batch of hackers could make some serious trouble for a few of the bigger spammers. -TD >From: Tim May <timcmay(a)got.net> >To: cypherpunks(a)lne.com >Subject: Re: Nigerian Spammers Using TDD/TTY Telephone Relay Service >Date: Tue, 27 May 2003 07:01:56 -0700 > >On Tuesday, May 27, 2003, at 04:23 AM, Roy M.Silvernail wrote: > >>On Tuesday 27 May 2003 03:53 am, Bill Stewart wrote: >>>This weekend I received three or more cell phone calls from 800-855-0000, >>>which said they were the AT&T Relay Service, which relays phone calls >>>from deaf people using TDD or TTY or now internet webform services. >>>They claimed to be a "Dr. Charles Ego" (or some name like that) >>>asking to confirm that I'd received his email, and asking for my email >>>address. >> >>Interesting turn of events. I'd have expected porno spammers to blaze >>this >>new territory. But then, it seems that the Nigerian spam crew has more >>time >>to waste. Reports like the one at http://www.geocities.com/a_kerenx/ tell >>of >>pulling what is essentially the telemarketer timewaster maneuver on the >>scammers. >> >>Frankly, I'm surprised I haven't yet seen incidents of spammers following >>up >>via another comm channel to find out why their spam was ignored and/or >>repeat >>their pitch. For that matter, with all the First Amendment blather heard >>from spammers, I'd almost expect one of them to argue for proactively >>enforced delivery and some sort of "obligation to read" statute. > > >No, absolutely _nothing_ in the First can possibly imply any "enforced >delivery" or "obligation to read." I assume you are semi-joking, but this >bears repeating, especially for those here who seem to be unclear on the >concepts. > >Secondly, most if not all of the "anti-spam laws" are, in fact, directly in >contravention of the First Amendment. (This applies to out of country >spammers, such as our friends like Dr. Igaboo Umbalago, Director of >Petroleum Resources of Nigeria. Why this is so is not because the Nigerians >are Americans but because "shall not be infringed" means that neither >Congress nor the cops can set up screening operations to examine the >content of mail or telephone calls: there simply is no authority for such >things, which means those who send letters or e-mail or who make telephone >calls from France or Nigeria or Taiwan are all de facto and de jure covered >by the First. The "penumbra," some might call it.) > >Several lists or groups I am are consumed by spam and anti-spam debates. >Nearly all participants in the debate miss the importance of the First. > >The First does not allow government to be in the content examination >business. Those who think otherwise need....well, you all know what they >need. I am serious. I am fucking sick and tired of bureaucrats, >legislators, and even people on lists like this thinking that they have >some authorization to examine the letters or e-mails I receive. > >Perhaps rather than retaliating against spammers, as many here have written >about, we should be talking about mail-bombing and spam-bombing any >politician or lawmaker who supports anti-spam legislation. > >--Tim May _________________________________________________________________ Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

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next: cops dressed as kids turn in parents
by Anonymous 29 May '03

29 May '03

Police, Dressed As Homeless, Give Tickets Thu May 22, 7:25 AM ET KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Homeless advocates are outraged by an operation where undercover police officers dressed as vagrants, observed drivers running red lights or committing other traffic violations, then radioed ahead to other officers who stopped those cars and wrote tickets. "Operation Vagrant," a sting operation involving the Florida Highway Patrol, Kissimmee police and the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, nabbed 171 drivers most of whom ran red lights, a violation that carries an $83 fine. Undercover deputies stood along streets and gave the indication they were vagrants by pushing shopping carts and wearing fake teeth and tattered clothing. They also carried small cardboard signs, which read, "Sheriff's traffic sting in progress. Buckle up." "It's kind of appalling," said Marilyn Gordon, executive director of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida. "I wonder if it will be a consciousness-raising exercise for the law-enforcement officers." Robert H. Brown, president and chief executive officer of the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida, said the officers were being silly. "It's ironic that they would use a disguise of someone that people think of as visually offensive," Brown said. "I just think it shows that the community's aware of the homeless problem. I wish they would solve it, rather than masquerading." Osceola sheriff's bureau Chief Jerry Geier said the sting was designed to raise awareness about dangerous intersections. Nearly 25,000 drivers were ticketed for running red lights in Florida in 2001, and 107 deaths that year were attributed to drivers disregarding traffic signals. Plus, police nationwide started a new initiative this week to call attention to dangers of riding in a vehicle without using a seat belt. "Our ultimate goal is to make an impact," Geier said. "The last thing we're trying to do is disrespect anybody." State Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, an advocate of stronger seat-belt and other traffic-safety laws, applauded the sting operation. His daughter, Dori, 14, was killed in a 1996 traffic accident in which she did not wear a seat belt. "I admire them for being creative," Slosberg said. http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=817&u=/ap/police_vagrant_imperso…

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Re: next: cops dressed as kids turn in parents
by Bill Stewart 29 May '03

29 May '03

>Police, Dressed As Homeless, Give Tickets Thu May 22, 7:25 AM ET > >KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Homeless advocates are outraged by an operation where >undercover police officers dressed as vagrants, observed drivers running >red lights or committing other traffic violations, then radioed ahead to >other officers who stopped those cars and wrote tickets. Hey, lots of people say their local cops are bums. These cops are just admitting it. What's the problem? >"It's kind of appalling," said Marilyn Gordon, executive director of the >Homeless Services Network of Central Florida. "I wonder if it will be a >consciousness-raising exercise for the law-enforcement officers." OK, so it may be insulting to the homeless. But it's also appropriately critical of the people who don't see the homeless when they walk by them, so it's got as much claim to political correctness as incorrectness. >State Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, an advocate of stronger seat-belt >and other traffic-safety laws, applauded the sting operation. His >daughter, Dori, 14, was killed in a 1996 traffic accident in which she >did not wear a seat belt. The state assemblycritter was so negligent that his daughter hadn't learned to wear seat belts (regardless of who was driving) and the voters elected him? Sigh. It's too bad that Darwin didn't take out him instead of his kid.

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Re: domestic chemwar, useful for street activists too
by Major Variola (ret) 26 May '03

26 May '03

At 07:46 PM 5/25/03 -0400, Sam Ritchie wrote: > Someone should suggest the use of Putrescine to Lt. Mathers... The >chemical odor of decaying bodies is so sickening that Glade couldn't stand a >chance. Anyone know a readily available way for synthesizing this stuff? A >dead body lets off very small quantities of it, awful in itself. Distilled >Putrescine would reduce the most stalwart of us to dry heaves. Oddly, putrescine is used by cell biologists as something used to keep cell cultures alive. They use an odd, not fully characterized brew, including serum. Skatole and indole are reportedly the odors in feces. Interesting that the .mil doesn't use the riot control agents used by domestic pigs because the .mil is prohibited from doing so. (.mil idea of nonlethal force is warning shots..) It would be useful to find odors that freak horses but are not noticed by humans, for dealing with pigs on horses. Predator-urine odors have been discussed here in the past but are hard to obtain. Putrescine, skatole (and skunk) are cheap from chem houses; haven't looked on ebay :-)

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Cypherpunks List Info
by cpunk＠lne.com 25 May '03

25 May '03

Cypherpunks Mailing List Information Last updated: Sep 12, 2002 This message is also available at http://www.lne.com/cpunk Instructions on unsubscribing from the list can be found below. 0. Introduction The Cypherpunks mailing list is a mailing list for discussing cryptography and its effect on society. It is not a moderated list (but see exceptions below) and the list operators are not responsible for the list content. Cypherpunks is a distributed mailing list. A subscriber can subscribe to one node of the list and thereby participate on the full list. Each node (called a "Cypherpunks Distributed Remailer", although they are not related to anonymous remailers) exchanges messages with the other nodes in addition to sending messages to its subscribers. A message posted to one node will be received by the list subscribers on the other nodes, and vice-versa. 1. 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