- cypherpunks-legacy - lists.cpunks.org

PsychicCash IPO
by M. Thomlinson 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

PsychicCash(TM) Announces Initial Public Offering PsychicCash, a leading developer of electronic commerce systems, today announced that it will sell 4.5 Million shares of common stock at a price of $25 a share. "This IPO will make me very rich" said co-founder Dan Thompson, "but of course you already knew that." PsychicCash pushes secure, thought-driven commerce into the modern world. PsychicCash is the holder of a number of crucial psychic commerce patents, including those on psychic blinding, psychic key-exchange, and psychic anonymity. The PsychicCash technology is based on the idea that there is no need for paper bills or plastic cards. Instead, a user simply thinks to exchange money. PsychicCash requires no hardware, and little knowledge of cryptography, however, it does require doing 1024-bit modular exponentiation in your head. "This is the logical progression of things," said PsychicCash supporter Dionne Warwick. "The use of PsychicCash(TM) to secure transactions should completely remove consumers' concerns about the safety of psychic commerce." Through the use of their patented technology, PsychicCash allows users to transmit value to any vendor, in any denomination, in any currency. With a future release of the protocol, a few additional multiplications will allow PsychicCash users to anonymize either party. The release is currently on hold due to problems in accidentally revealing (thinking) blinding factors. "Psychic debit" technology allows secure transmission of value across time as well as space. That is, one can deduct amounts from payee's bank accounts before the idea to purchase has even been conceived. (A similar use of this technique overcomes prior art claims on PsychicCash patents by shifting the date of filing back as far as needed.) As with all cryptographic solutions, PsychicCash must first get export approval from the US government for each of its' products. However, an ingenious system, called telepathic key escrow (TKE), should allow the company expedited commodities jurisdiction approval. Using TKE, a user simply thinks his key to the National TKE Center, which will then allow access to the key only with a court order. Whether or not other countries will allow the NTKEC to escrow their citizens' keys is still unclear. For more information: Tel: 206-936-0123 Within the US and Canada, phone: 1-212-888-8879 fax: 1-212-935-3882 e-mail: sales(a)psychiccash.mil for customer and technical support: think Matt Thomlinson University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. Check my home page -- http://weber.u.washington.edu/~phantom

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Java flaw is in bytecode verifier
by Hal 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>From http://java.sun.com/sfaq/960327.html: > Researchers at Princeton recently found an implementation bug in the Java > bytecode Verifier. The Verifier is a part of Java's runtime system which > certifies that applets downloaded over the Internet adhere to Java's > language safety rules. Through a sophisticated attack, a malicious applet > can exploit this bug to delete a file or do other damage. This is one of the more worrisome places for a bug to exist. Much of Java's security rests in the claim that it can screen for and detect bad bytecode sequences. This screening code is extremely critical for Java security and I am surprised to see that it was implemented in a flawed manner. I've been writing Java quite a bit in the last couple of weeks, and I find that I have crashed my browser, whether Netscape or appletviewer, many times. Granted some of my code has been pretty buggy, but it's still not supposed to crash the browser. Obviously some of the runtime checks are not being done properly. I had expected that the bug would be in these areas, something like the stack overflows that we have seen cause problems in the past. A simple error in the bytecode verifier (if that is what this really is) seems like a more fundamental security flaw. The researchers have still not released full details on the bug, although they had planned to do so by the end of March. Maybe they are waiting for the fix to be distributed. Hal

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Complete Waste of Bandwidth
by Robert A. Hayden 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- As you may remember, I wrote the Geek Code. Well, for those that care, run on out and pick up the April 18th issue of Rolling Stone (it has a 1/2 naked guy on the cover) and take a gander at page 20. It's and article about yours truly and the Geek Code. Cool, eh? *grin* -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: PGP Signed with PineSign 2.2 iQCVAwUBMWB2LjokqlyVGmCFAQEX4gP/TRTZjtPrlF0mD6gGwz/qyc1+dQpzP/ae T9H/jojqSxX5o1BYC1DEQQtAW/K28VKMRvaAlx7tqIxMvNPyVHGIcDqSovzTDo8C D5P79xQR+NGuzWZFaOsIOT89vWw3JF8nw8ug2oqQIxlwqWqqk9ju6JRa+yywC6K9 xlAIYiDK3XM= =+X1Q -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ____ Robert A. Hayden <=> hayden(a)krypton.mankato.msus.edu \ /__ Finger for Geek Code Info <=> Finger for PGP Public Key \/ / -=-=-=-=-=- -=-=-=-=-=- \/ http://krypton.mankato.msus.edu/~hayden/Welcome.html -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK----- Version: 3.12 GED/J d-- s:++>: a- C++(++++)$ ULUO++ P+>+++ L++ !E---- W+(---) N+++ o+ K+++ w+(---) O- M+$>++ V-- PS++(+++)>$ PE++(+)>$ Y++ PGP++ t- 5+++ X++ R+++>$ tv+ b+ DI+++ D+++ G+++++>$ e++$>++++ h r-- y+** ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

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Re: New release of SFS available
by David K. Merriman 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 09:07 PM 04/1/96 -0500, Tim Scanlon <tfs(a)vampire.science.gmu.edu> wrote: ^^^^^^^ >pgut001(a)cs.auckland.ac.nz >> >> I have just uploaded version 1.19 of SFS to the grumbo.uwasa.fi FTP site as: ... >> The head of the FBI Louis Freeh has been quoted as saying that "this will >> provide adequate protection against your little sister or your mother, while >> allowing law enforcement agencies to investigate people using encryption for >> illegal purposes". The head of the French DSSI agrees: "There have been too >> many cases of industrial espionage by foreign government intelligence agencies. > >Remind me not to use this junk. Ever. Got one! Reeeeeeeeel 'im in! ROFLMAO Dave Merriman ------------------------------------------------------------- "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." P. J. O'Rourke (b. 1947), U.S. journalist. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> http://www.shellback.com/personal/merriman/index.htm

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RE: Witch hunt
by Brian D Williams 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>From: "Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri(a)netcom.com> >Tim May == Rousseau??? hehehehehe. and I fail to comprehend how >anyone so universally despised as Detweiller could be considered >to have employed any "effective critical technique". maybe I >should send him some email, but alas I perceive that to be another >waste of time. Send HIM some E-mail? That's pretty funny Larry! What happened, someone sever your Corpus Callosum? Brian

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gnutar + pgp filter mode
by William Hayward 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- The gnu tar archiver allows to use an arbitrary compression program (option --use-compress-program=PROG). This works well with pgp if a small wrapper is used: #!/bin/csh -fb if ("$1" == "-d") then exec pgp -d -f else exec pgp -e -f endif The only problem is that this doesn't work well for larger amounts of data, because pgp reads in all data before starting with its work. Perhaps a future release of pgp will have a real filter mode. Hadmut BTW: Does this "crypto-hook" cause export restrictions to apply on gtar ? -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMV/0tmc1jG5vDiNxAQFtAAP/TMuYeYf5q7k1Y8DrBjb6XFKYYFANH3RH FvThWq1BUgI+unH97EZkNkCzZJYT5qmLGk3+JLufCAw/o9YR7jKcldm2LNYJ96t2 BDcSGDF3qx/IUzQBa5NV+gUerNRVSwA3LzkTbXufOxYH0cB3KNcsx3B0bE1rEDa/ GCcJ1L6T+2s= =FMiZ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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ssh won the Sampo Data Security Prize!
by Kauto Huopio 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The local TV news just announced that Tatu Ylonen won the Sampo Insurance Company's Data Security Prize 1996. Ssh will have a lot of good publicity here in Finland.. --Kauto *********************** Kauto Huopio (Kauto.Huopio(a)lut.fi) ****************** *Mail: Kauto Huopio, Laserkatu 3 CD 363, FIN-53850 Lappeenranta, Finland * *Tel : +358-53-4126573, GSM(mobile): +358-40-5008774 * *****************************************************************************

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Re: Canada's ISO standards body?
by Peter Trei 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Simon Spero <ses(a)tipper.oit.unc.edu wrote: > > On Thu, 28 Mar 1996 s1113645(a)tesla.cc.uottawa.ca wrote: > > > Speaking of which, could someone tell me who Canada's standards body and > > rep to the ISO is (and if that's where I've gotta go to get my hands on X.509 > > and all those other X.docs.). Any addresses would be helpful too. > > Try www.itu.org (X. series docs come from the ITU, not ISO. Same text > though). While the International Triathlon Union may be a standards body in it's own field, it has shockingly little influence on the X series of communications standards. You might try the International Telecommunications Union, at www.itu.ch. > I don't think v3 has been balloted yet - that gives you a chance to > explore one of the more amusing twists of OSI standardisation- you can > get copies for free of most drafts from the editor right up until it gets > standardised. Silly, isn't it. Haven't located it yet. > Simon Peter Trei Senior Software Engineer Purveyor Development Team Process Software Corporation http://www.process.com trei(a)process.com

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Re: Cypherpunks investigated, FOIA?
by rodger＠interramp.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

If it's been done, it won't likely make any difference. Information that would affirm or refute the existence of an investigation by law enforcement is exempt from FOIA. Will Rodger Interactive Week <---- Begin Included Message ----> Date: Tue, 2 Apr 1996 00:26:29 -0500 (EST) From: "Declan B. McCullagh" <declan+(a)CMU.EDU> To: cypherpunks(a)toad.com Subject: Cypherpunks investigated, FOIA? Cc: sgs(a)well.com >From sgs(a)well.com: Have the cypherpunks requested data on whether they are being investigated by the same agencies under the FOIA individually or as a group listed by that name? If so, what are the results, if any, so far? Does anyone know if this has been done? The FOIA, that is. -Declan <---- End Included Message ---->

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Re: (fwd) Russians Break RSA?
by stillson＠ashd.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

at Kryptogorodok, the secret city of Soviet cryptographers >hidden in the Urals (and first visited by an outsider, Stephen >Wolfram, only a couple of years ago). > Nice touch. I worked at Wolfram Research a few years ago, and wolfram actually was in Russia for a tour. Chris ############################################ Chris Stillson Chief Rocket Scientist Resident Web Geek Hip Young Nerd Second Rate graphic designer Unix Guru In other words, Webmaster American Software & Hardware Distributors fluffy(a)ashd.com Check out our web site-> http://www.ashd.com Cause I did it all.... stop the CDA. Check http://www.eff.org ############################################

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