- cypherpunks-legacy - lists.cpunks.org

Re: Cypherpunks-related Cartoons
by jim＠bilbo.suite.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Great idea! I'll keep an eye out. I have a "Calvin and Hobbes" taped to the wall next to my workstation that is perhaps remotely related to things Cypherpunk. It is more closely related to technology in general. Anyways, it goes something like this... [Calvin and Hobbes are walking through the woods] Calvin: "You know, Hobbes, it seems the only time most people go outside is to walk to their cars. "We have houses, electricity, plumbing, heat...Maybe we're so sheltered and comfortable that we've lost touch with the natural world and forgotten our place in it. Maybe we've lost our awe of nature. "That's why I want to ask you, as a tiger, a wild animal close to nature, what you think we're put on earth to do. What's our purpose in life? Why are we here?" Hobbes: [contemplates] "We're here to devour each other alive." Calvin: [stunned/blank look on his face, runs into his house] "Turn on the lights! Turn up the heat!" Jim_Miller(a)suite.com

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Re: Cypherpunks-related Cartoons
by jim＠bilbo.suite.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Here are a couple of software-related cartoons. They don't directly relate to things Cypherpunk, but Cypherpunks may still find them humorous. The origin of the first one is lost in the mist of time. My copy is a n-th generation photocopy of a photocopy. It goes like this: A woman and two children are standing beside a fresh grave site. It is pouring rain and they are huddled under an umbrella. A man standing next to them asks..."I know this may be an awkward time, but do you recall him ever mentioning source code?" The second cartoon is by Scott Adams and is dated 9-8-1992. It was distributed by United Feature Syndicate, Inc. I don't remember were I got my copy. It goes like this: [Three older-looking geeky engineer types are sitting at a table, presumably taking their lunch break.] Geek #1: When I started programming, we didn't have any of these sissy "Icons" and "Windows". All we had were zeros and ones -- and sometimes we didn't even have ones. I wrote an entire database program using only zeros. Geek #2 You had zeros? We had to use the letter "O". Jim_Miller(a)suite.com

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QUERY: source of info about nat'l. health ID card/number
by Stanton McCandlish 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Please respond by direct email, not list mail (or both if you dig): Anyone know the/a/some source(s) of info about this national health ID card and number plan I'm hearing about? We need info on this, but I'm not sure where the latest version of this stuff is, or what stage it's reached (Hillary's fancy? Legislative action? Development and implementation?) Any info appreciated. -- Stanton McCandlish mech(a)eff.org 1:109/1103 EFF Online Activist & SysOp O P E N P L A T F O R M C R Y P T O P O L I C Y O N L I N E R I G H T S N E T W O R K I N G V I R T U A L C U L T U R E I N F O : M E M B E R S H I P @ E F F . O R G

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PKP, DSS and USGVMT
by jim＠Tadpole.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1993 20:26:42 -0500 From: srctran(a)world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian) To: patents(a)world.std.com Subject: Software patent holds up $1 billion network buy A billion dollar DoD procurement for a new communications network maybe running into problems because of software patents dealing with encryption. The Defense Message System network will serve nearly one million users, and will replace a existing global Defense network. The project, being managed by the Air Force Standard Systems Center, will be a billion-dollar boost for the C/C++ COTS industry, with companies such as Microsoft, Lotus, ATT, and MCI planning to bid on the project. Unfortunately, the encryption technology planned for use in the DMS network is the subject of a long-running battle between the government and Public Key Partners (PKP). PKP claims that the proposed Digital Signature Standard (DSS) put forward by the National Institute of Standards (NIST) in 1991 infringes on public-key patents held by RSA Data Security and Prof. Claus Schnorr, both represented by PKP. Last summer the Commerce Department, after two years of unsuccessfully dealing with the legal challenges of PKP's software patents, said it would hand over an exclusive license for DSS to PKP. But over one hundred companies condemned the plan as illegal, and NIST backed off. The deal was also opposed by the European Community and the Canadian government. The deal would allow PKP to charge $1 for each public-key certificate issued using DSS. As of last week, the DoD was not prepared to say whether the procurement would be delayed by the patent problem. Negotiatons between PKP and the Commerce Department are still underway. For information, see an article in December 15, 1993 issue of Network World, page 4, on the patent issues, and an article in the November 1 edition of Federal Computer Week, page 2, for an article on the DMS procurement. ============================ Greg Aharonian Internet Patent News Service

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Re: Signing pictures -- how hard, how long?
by Martin Minow 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

If you have System 7 Pro (and an RSA certificate), you can sign any file, including a picture stored as EPSF or TIFF or whatever by dropping the file on your signature -- there are no modifications needed to the application that created the file. An application can sign pieces of information within a file (such as the content of a dialog, or the position of an object) by adding a small amount of code that calls the Digital Signature Manager. File signatures are verified by the Finder (or by an application), while object signatures are verified by the application. The developer toolkit has sample code that shows how to manage digital signatures, including a drawing program with signed objects and a Think C class library for signed files and objects. Martin Minow minow(a)apple.com The above does not represent the position of Apple Computer Inc.

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picture signatures
by Perry E. Metzger 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Could someone please tell me why I would possibly want to sign a picture? All it proves is that I had it in my possession -- it says nothing at all about if its been hacked (and indeed, it can be hacked regardless of what one does). A digital signature on a picture is no better than a court oath saying "yes, I took this picture". The only time you might ever want ANYTHING digitally signed is if you have doubts as to its origin or if someone might deny having signed it. It doesn't do you any good vis a vis verifying origin of a thing. .pm

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*2* remailers have been attacked
by Sameer 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I'm wondering if any people here running remailers have been having trouble lately. I'll explain. (And try not to act paranoid.) I ve been running a remailer on cs60a-qu(a)cory.eecs.berkeley,edu, and one day the account was disabled. I mailed the responsible administrator, and he said that it was because I didn't reply to his mail (I never check that account's mailbox, 'cause I hardly use it.) telling me that I should see him in person about possible email abuse. My account was going to be disabled on the 20th anyway, so I really didn't worry about it-- I had finals to worry about. So now I'm in Boston, and I call netcom, (where I run another remailer) and they tell me the account is being investigated because the account was used to break in somewhere. I know *I* did no such thing. I finger the account (by calling all the way across the damn country to my berkeley account) and it says that my las login was from soda.berkeley.edu, even though my las login was from the Berkeley dialup, not soda. I was told to call the netcom office tomorrow morning about the issue. My question is whether anyone else running a remailer has been attacked lately. In paranoia, Sameer (Please pardon any irrationallity.. phone calls from Boston->Berkeley are *not* cheap, and it's pissing me off.)

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Re: Error-Qualifying Signatures
by collins＠newton.apple.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

(Oops, forgot to include 'punks, sorry Nick) Nick Szabo asks: >Is a one-way hash function or digital signature possible with the >following property: signature verification doesn't just determine >the boolean altered vs. pristine, but also shows the picture >distance between the altered and original? This is possible. It is not a desirable quality for secure-hashes in most other situations because it compromises the privacy of the original message. Hash functions are usually designed specifically to avoid this. Scott Collins | "Few people realize what tremendous power there | is in one of these things." -- Willy Wonka ......................|................................................ BUSINESS. voice:408.862.0540 fax:974.6094 collins(a)newton.apple.com Apple Computer, Inc. 5 Infinite Loop, MS 305-2B Cupertino, CA 95014 ....................................................................... PERSONAL. voice/fax:408.257.1746 1024:669687 catalyst(a)netcom.com

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Re: Signing pictures -- how hard, how long?
by kqb＠whscad1.att.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Alan (Miburi-san) Wexelblat <wex(a)media.mit.edu> said: > The problem with bit-rot is a more significant one. In this case you might > want to compute your hash not over every bit of the image, but over the > "significant" ones. That way if you lose low-order bits that no one cares > about your signature is still valid. If your signature does not include the low order bits of your image, then someone could embed a secret message in those low order bits (via Romana Machado's "Stego," for example) and your signature still would be valid. I wouldn't want my signature over someone else's steganized message. I'm sure there's a simple fix for that, such as ensuring enough bit rot to blow away any but the most error-tolerant steganography or including a disclaimer of responsibility for the low-order bits, but I couldn't resist pointing it out. Kevin Q. Brown INTERNET kqb(a)whscad1.att.com or kevin_q_brown(a)att.com

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Re: MTGS: Conflict Alert
by plaz＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>If the Cypherpunks schedule their January '94 meeting on the 2nd >Saturday, Jan 8, that will conflict with a party announced >by visiting Exi fireman Harry (Hawk) Shapiro. Harry said: > > As I announced a month or so ago, I am holding a party on Jan 8, > at the Shearaton Palace Hotel in San Fran. > > Jan 8th is the last day of MacWorld. Hopefully a group of us will > meet for dinner arround 6pm. The party will start about 8 or > 8:30. > >As I doubt either Harry or MacWorld will change their schedules for >our benefit, I suggest the Cypherpunks consider (and announce with >plenty of lead time) changing theirs to the Saturday after (Jan 15) >(The Saturday before is New Year's day). Actually, there were plans to move the CyPunks meeting to Sat, Jan 15 anyway, since Jan 8th already conflicts with something else (Usenix? something Unix-y). Of course, the 15th is when the ExI-BATF (Extropy Institute - Bay Area Transhumanist/Task Force, for the extropianly-impaired) meeting would normally be held. I think we can ask Dave Krieger to put this off one week to the 22nd. If so, then I'll be happy. What d'ya say Dave? _______________________________________________________________________ Geoff Dale -- insert standard disclaimers here -- Plastic Beethoven plaz(a)netcom.com ExI-Freegate Virtual Branch Head plaz(a)io.com 66 Pyramid Plaza Cypherpunk/Extropian Freegate, Metaverse(a)io.com 7777 "Once you've gone plastic, you can never go back."

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