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October meeting announcement for SV2600
by T.R. Fullhart 29 Sep '04

29 Sep '04

This Friday is the October meeting of the Silicon Valley chapter of 2600. 2600 meetings are local gatherings to learn and discuss the information infrastructure of our society. This includes problems with the infrastructure and it's affects on our modern society. Chapters of 2600 are registered with 2600 magazine, http://www.2600.com/. Topics covered include: wired and wireless communications technology, secure computing platforms, open-source and free software movement, cryptography, how-tos, information security, and electronic civil rights. The Silicon Valley chapter of 2600 meets at 6:00PM on the first Friday of each month. We meet in the cafe patio at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library at 4th and E. San Fernando in downtown San Jose: 150 E. San Fernado St. San Jose, CA 95112 Our web site is at http://www.sv2600.org/. -- T.R. Fullhart kayos(a)genetikayos.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cryptography Mailing List Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to majordomo(a)metzdowd.com

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Federal judge rejects part of Patriot Act
by R. A. Hettinga 29 Sep '04

29 Sep '04

<http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6131670/print/1/displaymode/1098/> MSNBC.com Federal judge rejects part of Patriot Act Provision giving FBI access to business records overturned Reuters Updated: 12:11 p.m. ET Sept. 29, 2004 NEW YORK - A federal judge Wednesday found unconstitutional a part of the United States' anti-terror Patriot Act that allows authorities to demand customer records from businesses without court approval. U.S. District Judge Victor Marreo ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the power the FBI has to demand confidential financial records from companies as part of terrorism investigations. The ruling was the latest blow to the Bush administration's anti-terrorism policies. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that terror suspects being held in places like Guantanamo Bay can use the American judicial system to challenge their confinement. That ruling was a defeat for the president's assertion of sweeping powers to hold "enemy combatants" indefinitely after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The ACLU sued the Department of Justice, arguing that part of the Patriot legislation violated the Constitution because it authorizes the FBI to force disclosure of sensitive information without adequate safeguards. The judge agreed, stating that the provision "effectively bars or substantially deters any judicial challenge." Under the provision, the FBI did not have to show a judge a compelling need for the records and it did not have to specify any process that would allow a recipient to fight the demand for confidential information. -- ----------------- 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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How to fuck with airports - a 1 step guide for (Redmond) terrorists.
by Sunder 29 Sep '04

29 Sep '04

Q: How do you cause an 800-plane pile-up at a major airport? A: Replace working Unix systems with Microsoft Windows 2000! Details: http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/index.cfm?NewsID=2275 ----------------------Kaos-Keraunos-Kybernetos--------------------------- + ^ + :"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. /|\ \|/ :They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country /\|/\ <--*-->:and our people, and neither do we." -G. W. Bush, 2004.08.05 \/|\/ /|\ : \|/ + v + : War is Peace, freedom is slavery, Bush is President. -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Cryptography regulations threaten OSS in SA
by R. A. Hettinga 28 Sep '04

28 Sep '04

<http://www.ebcvg.com/news.php?id=3852> eBCVG - Cryptography regulations threaten OSS in SA Published on: Tuesday, 28 September 2004, 19:40 GMT South Africa's Electronic Communications and Transactions (ECT) Act of 2002 is a controversial piece of legislation. It attempts to address a whole lot of issues at once, without seeming to do a good job of any of them. Sections include a national e-strategy, e-government, electronic documents, cryptography, authentication, consumer protection, the .za domain name authority, and cyber crime. Chapter 5 deals with cryptography. It specifies the compulsory registration of all "cryptography providers" with the Department of Communications. The Act states in 30(1): "No person may provide cryptography services or cryptography products in the Republic until the particulars ... in respect of that person have been recorded in the register..." -- ----------------- 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: How to fuck with airports - a 1 step guide for (Redmond)
by Major Variola (ret) 28 Sep '04

28 Sep '04

Personal aside. I've started working for a medical device company. This is not so far from security programming, as checking your inputs, robustness, and being able to justify time spent inspecting and testing are all common to both domains. But today I learned that a device that keeps you heart going, should it forget how, has a field that rolls over in about 40+ days. But hey, euthanisia is underappreciated. Reboot that pacer! ------ People who are willing to rely on the government to keep them safe are pretty much standing on Darwin's mat, pounding on the door, screaming, "Take me, take me!"--Cael in A.S.R. Sunder wrote: >Q: How do you cause an 800-plane pile-up at a major airport? >A: Replace working Unix systems with Microsoft Windows 2000! "The servers are timed to shut down after 49.7 days of use in order to prevent a data overload, a union official told the LA Times." That would be 49.710269618055555555555555555556 days, or (curiously enough) 4294967295 (0xFFFFFFFF) milliseconds. Known problem with Win95 ('cept they call Win95 a "server").

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Re: Spy imagery agency watching inside U.S.
by Major Variola (ret) 28 Sep '04

28 Sep '04

You don't even need the Hubble-scopes pointed down that the NRO/NIMA/whatever the fuck they're called today has. Check out globexplorer.com; my patio is more than several pixels and a friend of mine saw his Bronco. You could probably make out the glint in JY's eyes. OTOH its really easy to signal our colleages overseas should they have similar resolution, and we have patio umbrellas. At 12:28 PM 9/28/04 -0400, R. A. Hettinga wrote: >Spy imagery agency watching inside U.S. >By Katherine Pfleger Shrader, Associated Press >BETHESDA, Md. - In the name of homeland security, America's spy imagery >agency is keeping a close eye, close to home. It's watching America. Since >the Sept. 11 attacks, about 100 employees of a little-known branch of the >Defense Department called the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency - and >some of the country's most sophisticated aerial imaging equipment - have >focused on observing what's going on in the United States.

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Spy imagery agency watching inside U.S.
by R. A. Hettinga 28 Sep '04

28 Sep '04

<http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/surveillance/2004-09-26-civilian-spying_x…> USA Today Spy imagery agency watching inside U.S. By Katherine Pfleger Shrader, Associated Press BETHESDA, Md. - In the name of homeland security, America's spy imagery agency is keeping a close eye, close to home. It's watching America. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, about 100 employees of a little-known branch of the Defense Department called the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency - and some of the country's most sophisticated aerial imaging equipment - have focused on observing what's going on in the United States. Their work brushes up against the fine line between protecting the public and performing illegal government spying on Americans. Roughly twice a month, the agency is called upon to help with the security of events inside the United States. Even more routinely, it is asked to help prepare imagery and related information to protect against possible attacks on critical sites. For instance, the agency has modified basic maps of the nation's capital to highlight the location of hospitals, linking them to data on the number of beds or the burn unit in each. To secure the Ronald Reagan funeral procession, the agency merged aerial photographs and 3D images, allowing security planners to virtually walk, drive or fly through the Simi Valley, Calif., route. The agency is especially watchful of big events or targets that might attract terrorists - political conventions, for example, or nuclear power plants. Everyone agrees that the domestic mission of the NGA has increased dramatically in the wake of Sept. 11, even though laws and carefully crafted regulations are in place to prevent government surveillance aimed at Americans. The agency is not interested in information on U.S. citizens, stresses Americas office director Bert Beaulieu. "We couldn't care less about individuals and people and companies," he said. But that's not good enough for secrecy expert Steven Aftergood, who oversees a project on government secrecy for the Federation of American Scientists. "What it all boils down to is 'Trust us. Our intentions are good,'" he said. Adds Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington: "As a general matter, when there are systems of public surveillance, there needs to be public oversight." Geospatial intelligence is the science of combining imagery, such as satellite pictures, to physically depict features or activities happening anywhere on the planet. Outside the United States, it can be a powerful tool for war planners who may use imagery to measure soil wetness to determine if tanks could travel an area. It can help weapons proliferation experts look for ground disturbances that can indicate new underground bunkers. Before Sept. 11, the NGA's domestic work often meant things like lending a hand during natural disasters by supplying pictures of wildfires and floods. But now the agency's new Americas Office has been called on to assemble visual information on more than 130 urban areas, among scores of other assignments, including maps of the national mall, the country's high-voltage transmission lines and disaster exercises. Sometimes, agency officials may cooperate with private groups, such as hotel security offices, to get access to video footage of lobbies and hallways. That footage can then be connected with other types of maps used to secure events - or to take action, if a hostage situation or other catastrophe happens. The level of detail varies widely, depending on the threat and what the FBI or another agency needs. "In most cases, it's not intrusive," said the NGA's associate general counsel, Laura Jennings. "It is information to help secure an event and to have people prepared to respond should there be an attack, or to analyze the area where a threat has been made." According to Executive Order 12333, signed by President Reagan in 1981, members of the U.S. intelligence community can collect, retain and pass along information about U.S. companies or people only in certain cases. Information that is publicly available or collected with the consent of the individual is fair game, as is information acquired by overhead reconnaissance not directed at specific people or companies. The NGA says it has aggressive internal oversight and its employees go through annual training on what is and isn't allowed. "If they deviated from their own rules, how would it be discovered?" asks secrecy expert Aftergood. "I am not satisfied that they have an answer to that question." One oversight committee in Congress noticed after Sept. 11 that an intelligence agency was snapping pictures of the United States, said a congressional aide, speaking on condition of anonymity. A staff member is now monitoring the issue, and the aide said so far problems have not been spotted. But Aftergood notes that while intelligence budgets have increased dramatically in the last five years, congressional oversight budgets have not. Even the agency concedes gray areas do emerge. Generally, for example, intelligence resources can't be used for law enforcement purposes. So the FBI or another agency could use an NGA-produced aerial photograph to solve a domestic crime. But the NGA couldn't take actions to target a specific individual, such as highlight a suspect's home, unless the information was linked directly to a national security issue. Agency officials call that "passive assistance" and say certain legal tests must be met. Law enforcement officials occasionally ask if the agency has information that could provide evidence about a crime - say, for example, whether a white truck was at a location at a certain time, Beaulieu said hypothetically. "Yes, we will do a check," he said. "But I can't remember a single case where we actually even had an image for that day." Jennings concedes that toeing such fine lines can be difficult. "We look, we check, and it just so happens that we haven't had a situation where there is a smoking gun," she said. "We would analyze each one, case by case." "Everybody wants to do the right thing and provide the information that is appropriate without overstepping their authority," she later added. The NGA says it is working to build trust - with the public and with private companies. Before Sept. 11, for instance, chemical plants and other critical sites weren't as cooperative as they are today, out of fear that aerial photographs might be shared with federal environmental regulators. NGA officials say the Homeland Security Department has been careful to protect proprietary information. What if NGA analysts were to see an environmental crime? "I don't think any of my people know enough to know an environmental crime," Beaulieu 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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Their Crisis, Our Leviathan
by R. A. Hettinga 28 Sep '04

28 Sep '04

--- begin forwarded text

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RE: Individual Geopolitical Darwin Awards
by Tyler Durden 28 Sep '04

28 Sep '04

Half-dozen? And virgins are WAY overrated. -TD >From: "Major Variola (ret)" <mv(a)cdc.gov> >To: "cypherpunks(a)al-qaeda.net" <cypherpunks(a)al-qaeda.net> >Subject: Individual Geopolitical Darwin Awards >Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 20:33:56 -0700 > >At 10:00 AM 9/27/04 -0400, Tyler Durden wrote: > >Don't forget, the World Trade Center management was on the Intercom >trying > >to tell everyone to "Remain inside the Building...It's safest Inside >the > >Building". > > > >Fuck. Here on Wall Street I'm a dead man. > >If you stay in NYC or DC, you are an individual winner of a geopolitical > >Darwin Award. You can collect along with your half-dozen virgins. _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/

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RE: John Abizaid needs termination
by Tyler Durden 28 Sep '04

28 Sep '04

"Methinks he's a robot," Isn't that from Philip K Dick's "The Penultimate Truth"? Hum. Any chance there really is no war in Iraq and we're just being cowered into producing items for the ultra-rich living outside of "Bunker USA"? -TD >From: "Major Variola (ret)" <mv(a)cdc.gov> >To: "cypherpunks(a)al-qaeda.net" <cypherpunks(a)al-qaeda.net> >Subject: John Abizaid needs termination >Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 20:27:43 -0700 > >Saw "general" Abizaid on the news. He was so obviously >either experiencing pharmaceutically-induced nystagmus or >reading from a teleprompter it wasn't funny. Methinks >he's a robot, or taking too many go-pills. Lets hear >2K dead by the elections. We'll settle for less if they're >in DC. _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/

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