- cypherpunks-legacy - lists.cpunks.org

Keyservers are back :-)
by gtoal＠an-teallach.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hi folks - this cypherpunk has been writing code... all damn weekend (I'm really feeling old - 24hr hacks used to be no problem. Now i have to stop for 5 hours sleep...) Anyway, I've written a completely new - no pgp or RSA code - key server which I can't see anyone being able to object to. I'm looking for volunteers to alpha-test it. Note, alpha-testing means you have to know what you're doing - it's not in any way tested already and you'll be helping find the bugs and smooth the installation process. Mail me at gtoal(a)an-teallach.com if you want to volunteer as a tester for a week. This server works as a slave server hanging off the European ones; it'll be fast at returning keys that it knows about, that have been around for some time; all other operations may be a little slower. The nice thing about it is that - inspired by the cypherpunk remailers - I've written it so that it can run on ordinary users accounts. I think it will be quite hard to get rid of this time :) Just one thing - it needs the 'procmail' suite. If you have it, fine, you'll make a great tester; if you don't, please fetch it and get it running before you approach me for the keyserver code. In a week's time - ought to be enough for testing and fixing (I mean, it only took two days to write the damn thing in the first place) - I'll be releasing the code and hopefully making an announcement of all the new keyservers that will exist. (That last bit is up to you guys...) Graham

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No Subject
by nobody＠rosebud.ee.uh.edu 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Some quotes from the December 13, Ô93 issue of Newsweek: Cover: ÒGlobal Mafia: TheyÕre Ruthless. Stateless. High Tech. And Deadly.Ó p. 22 ÒAround the globe, intelligence agencies are refocusing their operations from spies to criminals. Some of this may reflect the desire of spooks to protect their budgets in the post-cold-war world. But the threat is real...Ó ÒThe first trend is the development of computer and communications technology. Electronic fund-transfer systems can whiz billions of dollars around the globe within seconds. Faxes and cellular telephones can be encrypted, making it all but impossible to trace calls from them. Drug-cartel planes flying north to the United States have signal interceptors to plot radar and avoid monitoring.Ó p. 24 Ò...the Cali cartel treats cocaine as a business like any other (give or take the odd murder). The cartel recently tried to lease its own satellite so the CIA and DEA couldnÕt listen in on conversations. CaliÕs recruits are intelligent and its systems are high tech. In one case, the DEA arrested a trafficker who had 20 computers to run his distribution network.Ó [Satellite KeyServers perhaps?]

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Cypherpunks-related Cartoons
by cfrye＠ciis.mitre.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

A thought struck me yesterday (minimal damage as I saw it coming): we should collect references to/copies of Cypherpunks-related cartoons to have on hand as a tool for spreading the word about electronic privacy. For example, I saw a Calvin & Hobbes (last week?) where Calvin's dad bought a book by cash so the store couldn't track his purchasing habits; Hobbes' comment in the last frame was something like: "He's being dragged kicking and screaming into the information age, eh?" There's also the _New Yorker_ one with "On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog." and a few Bloom County's from 1987(???) that feature "secret writing". This set is perhaps best summed up by the following (paraphrased) exchange between Opus and Portenoy, the ground hog: Frame 1: Portenoy: Opus, you're an UKRL head. Opus: (Looks startled.) Frame 2: Portenoy: (Looks happy/relieved) I've always wanted to say that! Frame 3: Portenoy: This freedom to say what we want is the true meaning of the First Amendment! I for one love it! (Walks toward horizon) Frame 4: Opus: (Watches Portenoy depart, turns to address reader over left shoulder) That doesn't change the fact that I'm an UKRL head. Anyone else have references to other relevant cartoons? I'll keep a list and would be happy to post it whenever there is a significant number of new entries. -- Best regards, Curtis D. Frye cfrye(a)ciis.mitre.org "If you think I speak for MITRE, I'll tell you how much they pay me and make you feel foolish."

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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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