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AWK_war
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Wash Post reports today on a NSA intercept of a "secure communication" between two Israeli spooks discussing a top US official spying for Israel. The FBI opened an investigation in January. Israel denies the claim. Crypto is not mentioned, only that the Hebrew conversation was "awkwardly" translated. The intercept was withdrawn after 12 hours from the distribution list due to FBI's dismay at its spread. ------- AWK_war

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Banking Secrecy and Nazi Gold
by Tim May 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I try to deconstruct events, to determine what the real issues are. Take the case of the ongoing flap over Switzerland and claims that Swiss banks hid gold, jewels, and other forms of money for high-ranking Nazis. Adding to the flap--actually, making it a newsworthy event--is the allegation, probably true, that some of the gold was taken from Jews and others sent to extermination camps. (A further claim, not related to the Nazi claim directly, is that the bank accounts of those who perished in the war were not made available to heirs, that in some cases the banks even liquidated the accounts and used the money for (unspecified) purposes. I know little about this particular claim, and won't discuss it further.) OK, so it's clear to all right-thinking persons what should be done: Switzerland should return the money to the heirs of those killed by the Nazis. Ah, but it's not so clear to me. I guess I'm not a right-thinking person. First, it is not a matter of "Switzerland" having done something, it is a matter of several major banks and dozens (I presume) of lesser banks. It is Credit Suisse, Union Bank, etc. who presumably took in deposits, with numbered accounts (perfectly legal by Swiss law at the time), not the "state of Switzerland." Second, how could the _provenance_ of the deposits be determined by, say Credit Suisse? How could Hans the Banker taking a deposit from Fritz the Depositer somehow know that the money Fritz was depositing was from money seized from Jews? For all Hans knew, especially in 1939-43, before any real knowleedge of the extermination of Jews became available (and such knowledge was still rare, as any examination of the newspapers of the day will show), the money was from German families seeking to protect their own assets, or was even money siphoned from the German war effort, and so on. Third, the notion that "Switzerland must do something!" is pernicious and inimical to banking secrecy and basic privacy issues. A drumbeat is building which will serve to undermine banking secrecy around the world. (Now what happened to the Jews in Europe was horrible, depicable, etc. It was an example of the power of the total state to order the liquidation of some religious or ethnic faction. But the horror of the liquidation of millions of Jews, or millions of Chinese, or millions of Tutsis/Hutus, etc., must not be an excuse for expanding the power of states still further. That circular logic will ultimately kill even more in factions out of favor.) This issue relates to Chaumian anonymous cash, of course. One can imagine various scenarios by which crypto anarchy is used to transfer funds, etc. Left as an exercise for the imaginative. As the "Nazi Gold" story continues to build, expect "Swiss bankers" to be added to the list of the "Horsemen." (Swiss bankers always have been viewed with some suspicion--and admiration. Usually related to their "sheltering" of funds from dictators and mobsters. And their has long been the hint of complicity with the Reich in some areas. But now the move is on to associate Swiss banks with the Holocaust more explicitly.) I suspect the U.S. pressure on Swiss banks has a political dimension related to forcing a New World Order on international banking. The U.S. wants banking secrecy subject to U.S. control (so that banks like Castle Bank, Nugan Hand Bank, Banco Ambrosiano, BCCI, and the Bank of America can continue to be used for U.S. interests, and only U.S. interests). The Jews killed by the German state in the war are dead and gone. Most of their money is irretrievably gone. The clamor to break banking secrecy and "force" the banks to disclose all records is part of a larger political game. --Tim May There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay(a)got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^1398269 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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The Microsoft Provocateur
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The New Yorker of May 12 has a long profile by Ken Auletta on Myhrvold, "The Microsoft Provocateur": "For a decade, Nathan Myhrvold, Bill Gate's corporate gadfly, has been writing copious, bombastic, brilliant, and confidential memos for his boss. To read them is to understand a lot about Microsoft -- and the future." ----- http://jya.com/myhrvold.htm (56K)

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Hackers! <ooh, do it again> Hackers!
by Rick Osborne 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

"the Net" Magazine, #6 for June 97 page 96, has a blurb entitled "NetSurfer Archetypes: Seven Frightening Case Studies", one of which is of course "The Hacker". It says: The Hacker alias: :parasite: modus operandi: Breaks into Procter & Gamble's main database, and inserts a script that sends a free home pregnancy test to every man, woman, and child in North America. identifying marks: Pacific Bell lineman's uniform ("Hank from the Central Office sent me. You fellas got the security keys we requested?) favorite Web site: 25 Real-Life MacGuyvers philosophy of life: "43NytRoPH" _________ o s b o r n e @ g a t e w a y . g r u m m a n . c o m _________ DOS Tip #17: Add DEVICE=FNGRCROS.SYS to CONFIG.SYS

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Paper on IBM's New Crypto
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

For the paper describing IBM's new public key algorithm by Miklos Ajtai and Cynthia Dwork of IBM's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California: ftp://ftp.eccc.uni-trier.de/pub/eccc/reports/1996/TR96-065/index.html IBM's press release on it: http://jya.com/ibmkey.htm

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US Citizens doing crypto work overseas
by C Matthew Curtin 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Does anyone have any idea how extensive the legal entaglements might be for a US Citizen to accept work overseas developing crypto software for a foreign company? Someone at a company in Australia is interested in hiring some crypto-clued folks, and has asked me if it's even worth pursuing any US citizens. advTHANKSance -- Matt Curtin Chief Scientist Megasoft Online cmcurtin(a)research.megasoft.com http://www.research.megasoft.com/people/cmcurtin/ I speak only for myself Death to small keys. Crack DES NOW! http://www.frii.com/~rcv/deschall.htm

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Re: Banking Secrecy and Nazi Gold
by Tim May 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Someone sent me private mail about my post, and suggested that Swiss bankers have historically had close ties to the Swiss government, e.g, most are reserve officers in the Swiss military. He also suggested that Switzerland is more of a police state than many realize. Here is my reply: I don't argue otherwise. Likewise, Monaco is a video surveillance state, with hundreds of cameras scattered in hidden locations throughout that tiny place. Neither are places I'd want to live. But the deposits of the 1930s-40s are ancient history. As I said, I see the current foofaw as being political. (Just as the Kurt Waldheim thing was political, in that Israel, the U.S., and many other states knew of Waldheim's war record and chose to exploit the knowledge rather than reveal it.) If the U.S. forces the illegal gains to be "given back," mightn't the fortune Joe Kennedy amasses as a rum runner be seized? The Kennedy clan made its considerable fortune through outlaw activities, even to the (probable) point of buying the '60 election (Illinois, as I'm sure you know). (Not suggesting rum running = extermination of Jews. Far from it. But the notion of going back to events of 50-60 years ago, when ignored in the intervening decades, must always be scrutinized for real intentions.) Lastly, I really wish you'd make more of your comments in a public way, so that my responses can be public. --Tim There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay(a)got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^1398269 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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Re: Controversial Commercial ISP for Remailer?
by Dave Hayes 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Ray Arachalian writes: > On Tue, 6 May 1997, Dave Hayes wrote: > > Igor Chudov writes: > > > I am interested in your view, Dave. > > There are only two reasons that I can see your interest serving. > > You either wish to support my views or oppose them. Neither case > > serves your potential enlightement, therefore I shall choose to > > not answer. > A very Zen answer (and quite a slippery one at that.) Thank you. > What if Igor was simply curious as to your views? Curiosity does not generally have zero attachment to other goals. If it did in this case, the information is not useful. > If not what difference does it make whether he supports or opposes > your view? Moo. > Why do you care whether or not a person is enlightened by your > response? I don't. > If you truly are following Zen, then it is not for you to decide > what will or won't enlighten others since this would mean taking > responsability for another person's karma. I neither follow nor lead Zen, but it is interesting to note your conjugation of "truth" and it's implications. > IMHO, your response isn't one of potentially enlightening others, but rather > fear of sharing your opinion. Since it is clear you cannot understand the former, the latter is all that is open to you to understand. Perhaps that is good enough, for your purposes. > This is two fold. If you fear he will oppose it, you are seeking > the approval of others. If you fear he will agree to it, you fear > that those who oppose his views will oppose yours. There are many more folds that you have overlooked. I may desire him to oppose it, thus seeking negative approval. I may desire him to agree to it, thus seeking positive approval. I may desire him to neither agree nor oppose it, thus seeking his enlightenment by my words, which is really seeking positive approval. I may fear he will neither agree nor oppose it, thus seeking his lack of enlightenment by my words, which is really seeking negative approval. > You could take the hidden third option and claim privacy, however it > is too late to do so since you have already shared some commentary - > and thus this path is closed to you. No path is closed to me, except by my choice. > Your responses so far were to the ethical and moral standards of spamming the > spammers. I wasn't interested in such. I am comfortable with my own morals > and take responsability for my actions. However, the point of this paragraph > is that you have tried to share with us your morals, and thus thrust them > upon us, later, here, you say you lack the will to share your views with us, > and thus back out of passing judgement on our hypothetical actions. > And at this point I am no longer interested in your oppinion on this > matter for it is jaded by fear, so please, don't even bother to reply. :) Notice the way you respond to my sharing: You pass judgement on my views, thus preventing your own enlightenment. Then you say you lack the will to be interested in my response, thus becoming guilty of what you claim I am guilty of. This was truly a mirrored interchange. I thank you for the opportunity to witness my self in you. ;-) ------ Dave Hayes - Altadena CA, USA - dave(a)jetcafe.org Freedom Knight of Usenet - http://www.jetcafe.org/~dave/usenet A passerby caught Nasrudin prying open the window of his own bedroom from the outside in the depths of night. "What are you doing? Locked out?" "Hush!" came the reply. "They say I walk in my sleep. I am trying to surprise myself and find out."

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GAK Spreads, FRB Smirks
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

A news report today that 22 new members have joined the Key Recovery Alliance, now 61 total. A meeting in Toronto on April 24-25 reviewed committee reports on key recovery prospects for "facilitating the wordlwide use of strong cryptography." And, two Federal Reserve economists claim that smart cards and E-cash have a ways to go to compete with well-tested and trusted paper bucks. No, they smirk, these views do not protect the FRB's central bank hegemony. Both reports at: http://jya.com/krafrb.txt

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crypto.swdev.co.nz ??
by Ernest Hua 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Anyone know why crypo.swdev.co.nz is no longer available via anonymous ftp? Ern

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