June 2004 - cypherpunks-legacy

[osint] Department of Homeland Security tightens grip on unclassified information
by R. A. Hettinga 12 Jun '04

12 Jun '04

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Re: Reverse Scamming 419ers
by Tyler Durden 11 Jun '04

11 Jun '04

Well, burn down my unabomber shack! Have we smoked out Tim May? As much as his one-sided thinking pisses me off sometimes I miss the sheer "fuck you" of it. -TD >From: Tim <nightwatch01(a)comcast.net> >To: Eric Cordian <emc(a)artifact.psychedelic.net> >CC: cypherpunks(a)minder.net >Subject: Re: Reverse Scamming 419ers >Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 15:30:52 -0700 > >What a bleeding-heart moron you are, Eric! > >Eric Cordian wrote: > >>I visited that 419eaters site, and I must say I have really mixed feelings >>about what the people are doing there. >> >>It's certainly unethical for Nigerians to try and make a living by bilking >>foreigners with elaborate schemes that promise vast riches in return for >>an >>advance fee. >> >>But Nigeria is a very poor country, with high unemployment, where people >>are forced by economic circumstances to do almost anything to try and feed >>their families. I see no reason to be proud of reverse-scamming a >>Nigerian out of $80 when it might be his entire family's food money for >>the month. >> >>Only idiots fall for Nigerian Spam. (well, aside from that lady who worked >>at a bank, and sent some Nigerian $1.3 million of the bank's money) >> >>It seems to me the relationship between affluent Americans and poor >>Nigerians is an example of a dominant class/subordinate class structure, >>and in such a structure, the subordinate class has rights, and the >>dominant class has responsibilities. >> > > So the savages have a right to try to scam us, and we fat, rich Americans >(at least us white ones, maybe the black ones never receive the >419 scams) should either give them some $$, or at least not try to stop the >scams... > >> >>It is beneath the station of those those with the power to define, >>describe, and profile the world to pick the pocket of some poor black man >>in Africa, while encouraging him to pose for funny pictures that will be >>laughed at on some comfortably well off white person's web site. >> >> > It's tough to have a fair debate with you, when you resort to using some >extrasensory psychic powers which I am lacking. > > > _________________________________________________________________ FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar get it now! http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/

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Certicom reports first profitable fiscal year
by R. A. Hettinga 11 Jun '04

11 Jun '04

<http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Arti…> Toronto Star Jun. 11, 2004. 01:00 AM Certicom reports first profitable fiscal year Certicom Corp., a specialist in security software, is reporting the first profitable year in its 19-year history, with net income of $17.2 million (U.S.) due largely to a major contract with the U.S. National Security Agency. The profit was good news for Certicom employees, who shared $1.4 million in bonuses for helping to get the Mississauga-based company into the black in the fiscal year ended April 30. But the bonus payouts increased the company's operating expenses and contributed to a $1.7 million loss in Certicom's fiscal fourth quarter, which included a $500,000 bonus expense. The firm reports in U.S. dollars. Certicom chief executive Ian McKinnon, who was hired in March, 2002, to turn around the company, said yesterday the U.S. contract enabled the company to achieve its first profitable year. That deal alone contributed $24.9 million of the $34.5 million in revenue Certicom reported in fiscal 2004. In fiscal 2003, revenue totalled $10.4 million. McKinnon said there is increased market acceptance of elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), the technology at the root of Certicom's products. Following the end of the fourth quarter, Certicom signed major ECC-based licensing agreements with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. of Waterloo, and Pennsylvania-based Unisys Corp., a global information technology services company. The structure of the RIM deal is a model for what Certicom hopes to do in other contracts as it seeks to generate an ongoing stream of recurring revenue rather than "lumpy" revenue from one-time sales, McKinnon told analysts. With the RIM contract, Certicom is selling a pre-paid block of licences. "We like this model. I would say it's representative of the financial model for this company going forward," McKinnon said during a conference call. While Certicom's technological strength has long been acknowledged, the company has struggled to turn that acumen into sales and profits since it was founded in 1985. It issued an initial public stock offering in June, 1997. Certicom rose 27 cents (Canadian) to $3.45 yesterday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, up 8.5 per cent. But the stock is well below its 52-week high of $4.99, set in January, and the all-time split-adjusted high of $120.47 set in March, 2000. In the fiscal fourth quarter, Certicom's board approved a new strategy for licensing the company's intellectual property. McKinnon wouldn't provide guidance on future revenue. Earnings for the financial year ended April 30 amounted to 50 cents (U.S.) a share and compared with a loss of $4.9 million, or 15 cents per share, a year earlier. In the fourth quarter, Certicom lost $1.7 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with a loss of $2 million, or 6 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $2.6 million from $2.4 million. -- ----------------- 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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RE: Reverse Scamming 419ers
by Tyler Durden 11 Jun '04

11 Jun '04

"It is beneath the station of those those with the power to define, describe, and profile the world to pick the pocket of some poor black man in Africa, while encouraging him to pose for funny pictures that will be laughed at on some comfortably well off white person's web site." I gotta admit that made me a little uncomfortable. Made me think twice about pulling a few thou out if it were possible. But then again, it's arguable that if this dude spent more time trying to DO something productive he might make more than the beating he's taking perpetuating his pathetic scam. Actually, among all the African groups I've encountered in the US so far, Nigerians seem to have a lot more drive than other groups, and they seem to excel at technical subjects. So maybe this dude needs a beating or two to set him straight. -TD >From: Eric Cordian <emc(a)artifact.psychedelic.net> >To: cypherpunks(a)minder.net >Subject: Reverse Scamming 419ers >Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 10:31:07 -0700 (PDT) > >I visited that 419eaters site, and I must say I have really mixed feelings >about what the people are doing there. > >It's certainly unethical for Nigerians to try and make a living by bilking >foreigners with elaborate schemes that promise vast riches in return for an >advance fee. > >But Nigeria is a very poor country, with high unemployment, where people >are >forced by economic circumstances to do almost anything to try and feed >their >families. I see no reason to be proud of reverse-scamming a Nigerian out >of >$80 when it might be his entire family's food money for the month. > >Only idiots fall for Nigerian Spam. (well, aside from that lady who worked >at a bank, and sent some Nigerian $1.3 million of the bank's money) > >It seems to me the relationship between affluent Americans and poor >Nigerians is an example of a dominant class/subordinate class structure, >and >in such a structure, the subordinate class has rights, and the dominant >class has responsibilities. > >It is beneath the station of those those with the power to define, >describe, >and profile the world to pick the pocket of some poor black man in Africa, >while encouraging him to pose for funny pictures that will be laughed at on >some comfortably well off white person's web site. > >-- >Eric Michael Cordian 0+ >O:.T:.O:. Mathematical Munitions Division >"Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law" > _________________________________________________________________ MSN 9 Dial-up Internet Access fights spam and pop-ups now 3 months FREE! http://join.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200361ave/direct/01/

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recent brute-force work factor calculations
by Eric Murray 11 Jun '04

11 Jun '04

Does anyone know of a recent brute-force work factor calculation for the various common symmetric ciphers? I.e. it'll take X 3.2gh Xeons Y years to brute cipher Z. I know there's a table of these in Schneier and there's the "Seven Cryptographers" paper but they're both pretty old at this point. I'm just looking for an approximation. Thanks. Eric

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