- cypherpunks-legacy - lists.cpunks.org

Re: Information
by stewarts＠ix.netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>> On Tue, 5 Nov 1996, Edward R. Figueroa wrote: >> > I'm a new Cyberpunk! Probably wearing a set of Ono-Sendai eyeballs.... >> > Last, I would like to know once and for all, is PGP compromised, is >> > there a back door, and have we been fooled by NSA to believe it's secure? You can read and compile the source code yourself. You can learn crypto to help you understand the strength of the algorithms. I'd recommend Bruce Schneier's "Applied Cryptography". You can look for bugs and subtle design flaws along with other people. There are un-subtle design flaws, like the DOSoid user interface :-), and there are philosophical arguments about whether an identity-based Web of Trust is the right trust model, and practical problems about how to support revocation correctly, but basically it's Pretty Good Privacy. On the other hand, there are other threats to think about. Is there a virus, software bug, or trojan horse that captures the keystrokes you type into your computer? If your passphrase is stolen, you lose. PGP can't tell; it's just software. What's on that yellow sticky note? Is the NSA listening for electronic signals from that dark van parked out in front of your house? They're pretty good these days. Your computer doesn't know, so PGP can't help you with it. Are you using PGP to keep business records (like that second set of books) which can be subpoenaed by a court? When the IRS seizes your computer and sees all those files with ------BEGIN PGP----- on them, can they force you to reveal the keys or at least the contents? PGP can't solve those problems for you. But it can keep amateurs like your local police department from reading the files you really care about until they haul you in front of a court where you can bring a lawyer. There are applications that PGP doesn't do, like keeping the blocks on your disk drive automagically encrypted - it just does things to files when you tell it to. But you can at least encrypt the critical stuff, and you can encrypt your email messages and other sensitive files you transmit across a network. Won't do any good for IRC... # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart, +1-415-442-2215 stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # You can get PGP outside the US at ftp.ox.ac.uk

7 9

Mike Rawson on ISP-TV's "Real Time"
by ISP-TV Main Contact 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

*** ISP-TV Program Announcement: Live interview with Mike Rawson, Director of Internet Policy, office of U.S. Senator Burns *** *** Monday, Nov. 11 *** *** 9:00 PM ET *** Mike Rawson, Director of Internet Policy for the office of U.S. Sen. Burns, will be the guest on ISP-TV's "Real Time" interview show this monday night. Mike runs Sen. Burns web site, and has been active in the shaping of legislation aimed at cryptographic liberalization, as well as bringing hearings on the Pro-Code Bill live over the Internet. Mike will share with us the current state of crypto legislation, as well as speculate on its future in the next Congress. This video interview can be viewed on the ISP-TV main CU-SeeMe reflector at IP 205.197.247.33, or other ISP-TV affiliate reflectors listed at http://www.digex.net/isptv/members.html See URL http://www.digex.net/isptv for more information about the ISP-TV Network To obtain Enhanced CU-SeeMe software, go to: http://goliath.wpine.com/cudownload.htm

1 0

[NOISE] [philosophypunks] [Vulis] Mills & Hallam-Baker
by Bryce 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- hallam(a)ai.mit.edu writes: > > If we return to the original basis on which Mill opposed censorship > its not hard to find out why Dimitri is denied his support. The > argument is based on the need to keep alive debate. That was only one of several arguments. Another was that the potentially-censored speaker might be right! I don't remember the others. Regards, Bryce -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2i Comment: Auto-signed under Unix with 'BAP' Easy-PGP v1.1b2 iQB1AwUBMoGkZUjbHy8sKZitAQFmRgMAu2U+zQTa+txp2wz9SG6mQwS4MXXkgeDi zjenNSN8KvwM92fxio5S+KfOzTjggU2dczeBuEAb7EPPJFUCtAh0ZEgYguzEnpAU Vx2Ct06VOQbr0mRUlfuGbwgvX0fYnh0D =Dqw6 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

2 1

Euro Key Escrow
by Ben Laurie 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Someone, somewhere, posted a rumour that Europe was about to go for a key escrow scheme known as "Royal Holloway". I have done a little research and gleaned the following: It is, apparently, true that the EC is considering schemes for key escrow, by "trusted third parties" (trusted by who, I'd like to know?). "Royal Holloway" is one of these schemes. It is named after the college of origin, if anyone cares. It essentially revolves around each pair of TTPs sharing two out of three parts of a key, and generating the third part for each of their users. The idea is that either of the TTPs who generated keys for an encrypted message exchange can decode it (by using the private key of their "client" and the public key of the other TTP's "client"). Full details can be found at: ftp://ftp.dcs.rhbnc.ac.uk/pub/Chris.Mitchell/istr_a2.ps This is in PostScript. I'm not aware of any plain text versions. I'm informed that this is likely to be introduced into EC legislation, though my understanding is that members are not required to actually incorporate the legislation. No doubt France will embrace it with happy shouts. Of course, it is our duty as netizens to resist this kind of rubbish, and I encourage you to write to your MP/EuroMP (or local equivalent). Cheers, Ben. -- Ben Laurie Phone: +44 (181) 994 6435 Email: ben(a)algroup.co.uk Freelance Consultant and Fax: +44 (181) 994 6472 Technical Director URL: http://www.algroup.co.uk/Apache-SSL A.L. Digital Ltd, Apache Group member (http://www.apache.org) London, England. Apache-SSL author

2 1

Mixmaster Test
by Jenaer Mixmaster Anonserver 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Sorry for the spam, folks ... just looking for a mixmaster that puts the Subject: line into cypherpunk messages. Name-Withheld-By-Request Editor in Chief, Cypherpunk Enquirer

1 0

Re: Censorship in Western Australia
by linefeed＠juno.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

please!!!!!!!

1 0

Key to the Future of E-Commerce
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

http://techweb.cmp.com/oem/docs/commerce.html Breaking Into Electronic Commerce [Excerpts] By Larry Lange Internet commerce is a riddle wrapped in an enigma. At once the biggest opportunity the computer and communications industries face in the latter half of the 1990s, it also represents their biggest risk. ... The L0pht is about what you'd expect in the way of headquarters for a motley group of twentysomething computer hackers with Internet names like Deth Vegtable, Brian Oblivion and Mudge. ... Mudge and his ilk of brilliant break-in artists believe they play an important role as the underground angels of Internet commerce, minding the gates to the new digital marketplace. ... Eric Hughes agrees. As a co-founder of Cypherpunks, Hughes is part of a virtual band of code crackers spun out of the Advanced Computer Lab at the University of California at Berkeley, connected by a regular listserv-group e-mail that reports as many as 60 security breeches daily. The group's raison d'etre, says Hughes, is "evaluating security in the interest of the user.'' His frank appraisal of the state of the art in electronic-commerce products is a tonic for the hyperbole of the public-relations machine. "I disagree with the characterization that electronic-security tools are in a high state of excellence,'' Hughes says. "In fact, I consider the state-of-shelf quite poor and not economical to deploy. Until platform security is drastically improved, these kinds of problems correctly lead to some queasiness over the widespread use of PCs to keep secrets.'' Like it or not, the Web denizens like Hughes and Mudge hold the key to the future of electronic commerce on the Internet, and everyone in the industry knows it. ... Not all Internet companies are courting the cyber Robin Hoods, however. "We're trying to prove that cryptography is powerful and can make viable, attractive and commercial propositions, while at the same time protecting people's privacy,'' says David Chaum, "The Cypherpunk approach is the opposite. It's 'We're gonna make and break systems and we're gonna debunk things by finding weakness in systems.''' [Snip balance of longish feature article]

1 0

No Subject
by Ronny Front 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-- Regards, \Ronny. _ /| \'o.O' =(___)= U

1 0

Smart Bombs
by jbugden＠smtplink.alis.ca 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Smart Use for Smart Cards "UBIQ announced that its software has been selected by American Express to personalize smart cards that will be issued ... for ticketless travel on American Airlines. ... Airline travelers with these smart card holders will be able to proceed directly to an airport gate, insert their smart card into a gate reader, receive seat confirmation, and board the plane without touching a single piece of paper. "Traditionally, smart card technology has been associated with user authentication for computer systems or as an electronic alternative for cash. This announcement takes the best of both worlds and looks to provide a potentially innovative use for smart cards. ... Copyright (c) 1996 Zona Research Inc. Of course, not having a card may subject you to greater scrutiny at check-in time due to the reduced tracking ability. James

1 0

No Subject
by Henry Iskandar 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Please unsubcribe me from your list Creating Place Medan - Indonesia ebrandt(a)idola.net.id

1 0