-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- [ To: cypherpunks@algebra.com, Wei Dai ## Date: 08/08/97 10:37 pm ## Subject: Re: Eternity Uncensorable? ]
Subject: Re: Eternity Uncensorable? To: Cypherpunks Lite <cp-lite@comsec.com> From: Wei Dai <weidai@eskimo.com> Date: Wed, 06 Aug 1997 11:33:55 -0700 (PDT)
I suggest using information dispersal to spread risk amongst remailer operators. Use Rabin's information dispersal technique to divide up a document into n shares such that k of them can reconstruct the original, and post each share via a seperate remailer. It would be hard for the government to single out an operator to go after since an individual share by itself is useless.
I'm a little concerned with the usefulness of this idea in a legal sense. Imagine the physical analogue: Alice buys the guns and masks, and leaves them in a pre-arranged place. Bob anonymously buys a car and leaves it, with the keys inside, in another pre-arranged place. Carol and Dave collect the guns, masks, and the car, and use them to rob a bank or hijack an airplane. Do you suppose the feds will have any problem prosecuting Alice and Bob for their part in the conspiracy?
If n>k this also increases reliability and resilience of the eternity service against technical attacks.
This part is somewhat more useful. However, n copies of the message are probably better. I think the general problem here is unsolveable--running an Eternity server is just going to be a dangerous thing to do if you live somewhere where the police are likely to see possessing, distributing, or selling some of the information on it as a crime. There are two possible solutions I can see: Either make Eternity servers so widespread that taking down individual servers in individual jurisdictions is futile, or find some jurisdictions where virtually *nothing* will provoke the police to act. (Note that legal jurisdiction isn't the only issue here. Some groups may be willing to use terrorist tactics to shut down these servers.) Note: Please respond via e-mail as well as or instead of posting, as I get CP-LITE instead of the whole list. --John Kelsey, kelsey@counterpane.com PGP 2.6 fingerprint = 4FE2 F421 100F BB0A 03D1 FE06 A435 7E36 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBM/ChJUHx57Ag8goBAQFTdwP/cX/+SsXEkjmSrTYcvSBP9bHsAzRcXs+z FmPIq1dd9T7Mm6tlJGe8iC4lXmpm4JVqhmZMTGoJlkw6ld1MWGiOevpDWhycpAPQ 6ohDd/R2G3dRHkWCvPklyeKQx3v8GfWAhPrupJZNNAUCIJqDMlg6kJQv4BDiEukr G7C89qeaXqA= =WXLf -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --John Kelsey, Counterpane Systems, kelsey@counterpane.com PGP 2.6 fingerprint = 4FE2 F421 100F BB0A 03D1 FE06 A435 7E36