maher@kauai.UCSD.EDU (Kevin E. Maher) writes:

I think what you've described is essentially a "secondary" remailer, one which only communicates with other remailers in messages of a fixed size. I'm pretty sure mixmaster can do this, and additionaly can split a message into chunks and send them on their way via differen paths.

If I've misinterpreted what you were describing, please correctme.

Hmmm... think of an egg carton, filled with anywhere between zero and twelve eggs. Each egg has its own itinerary as to how many stops it wants to make at other remailers, and whether it wants to change cartons. The eggs would be entire messages, and could "get off" at any particular stop, or at a random stop (based on # of rides(hops?)). The entire carton would be encrypted from one stop to the next. I would anticipate that the single-message architecture of the cpunk remailer would be retained, and that "riding the subway" would be an optional feature. Of course with "passenger" exchange and waiting you essentially get the mixmaster effect, except you are blind to the actual pathway. (remember the MX-missle system, which planned on moving ICBMs from launch site to launch site in an underground matrix of tunnels?) The only thing you would see from the outside is regular pulses of large cargo-carrying (or not) message containers. It might be a partial cover-traffic solution as well, though you still have to worry about entering and exiting the subway system, it's just that it somewhat breaks the identifiable direct traffic-trace links. An even more advanced feature could allow an individual to submit an entire container (loaded with different messages) to the subway system (although this may give an attacker clues about any weakness in randomizing pathways internal to the system, for users utilizing default features). Imagine only submitting one or two messages a day that delivered twenty-five. That might really furrow a traffic analyst's brow. More or less that extends the subway paradigm outside the ring of the system, at least partially, I would guess. I am unsure if there is an existing term for this, but how about "composite mail" containing "aggregate messages"? ------------------------------------------------------------------ P M Dierking |