At 4:37 PM 6/29/96, Hal wrote:
From: ichudov@algebra.com (Igor Chudov @ home)
A nice, albeit quite expensive, way of pretection from traffic analysis is to create a mailing list (or a newsgroup) and forward all messages to all users of that mailing list or newsgroup. Of course, since messages are encrypted, only the recipients will be able to decrypt them.
This was discussed here several years ago, under the name "anonymous message pools". Myron Cuperman, the operator of the extropia remailer implemented one, although I don't know if it is still running (I haven't gotten any mail from it for years). It was basically just a mailing list specifically for this purpose, that you would use as your anonymous return address. Of course a problem is that there may not be enough people signed up to provide much privacy protection.
The newsgroup "alt.anonymous.messages" has existed for a year or two, and serves to be working reasonably well as a message pool. Check it out. One will find numerous messages of the sort copied below. Having browsed some of the less common newsgroups (and trolled, in my my earlier days), I surmise that messages to nyms like "TheBear" are related to "support and recovery" sorts of topics. (I mention this because this is a compelling example of where anonymity is often sought; that people are using remailers and message pools to communicate is interesting. When Louis Freeh claims that remailers are only being used by hackers and Russian mafia arms exporters, this is a counterexample.) Here's just one such message, of several I saw this morning in "alt.anonymous.messages". (Note that anonymous message pool sorts of messages also appear directly from time to time in groups like "alt.abuse.recovery" and that ilk.) --begin copied message-- From: nobody@REPLAY.COM (Anonymous) Newsgroups: alt.anonymous.messages Subject: TheBear Date: 15 Jun 1996 14:26:12 +0200 Organization: Replay and Company UnLimited Lines: 14 Sender: replay@basement.replay.com Message-ID: <4pua54$gt6@basement.replay.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: basement.replay.com X-XS4ALL-Date: Sat, 15 Jun 1996 14:26:17 MET DST XComm: Replay may or may not approve of the content of this posting XComm: Report misuse of this automated service to <abuse@REPLAY.COM> -----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Processed by Mailcrypt 3.4, an Emacs/PGP interface hIwDrINEDTBBpVEBA/4sKOcgI33fdk6Pz5V27OIX0KiVfb4YDwgNLDpf6Wy0uvix 4oQ9p+vmtsZ32dPBoG4aF7bvh5ejqwZSpvuKOpgt1M8SKbA+Nma+EclMzQ3us3Ey OX5aFKo3TwB1Ck8tZPhpF8b/fI8gqz5v2FJhnon6NdktjFBVo3SBXya8AdlgUaYA AABsOTd6WOMH8PWnKHuP7PMCflH2p+halmCDsn9ytmoG6uzrINHH/B8c7aW6c7xw 9nXbB+99xLldhAqyg1M/oKi4pjfJ8cuSonDxMPTP8rr49XTCFaiOuQ7JUe3MEaop NIppnoBMrBvGRkKOgrYy =lYbJ -----END PGP MESSAGE----- --end copied message-- --Tim May Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software! We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Licensed Ontologist | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."