Re: (eternity) mailing list and activity
On 11 Jan 1998 18:48:24 -0600, Adam Back <aba@dcs.ex.ac.uk> wrote:
Wei Dai suggested that documents should be secret split in a redundant fashion so that say 2 of 5 shares are required to reconstruct the document. If the shares are distributed across different servers, this ensures that one server does not directly hold the information.
What prevents the operator of such a server from being charged with "conspiracy to provide child porn" or whatever? If he is holding a portion of such contraband, isn't he as liable as if he was holding the whole article(s)? -- Phelix
phelix@vallnet.com writes:
On 11 Jan 1998 18:48:24 -0600, Adam Back <aba@dcs.ex.ac.uk> wrote: [secret splitting eternity data on servers]
What prevents the operator of such a server from being charged with "conspiracy to provide child porn" or whatever?
I expect so. I also expect the spooks will be the ones submitting the child porn to the service.
If he is holding a portion of such contraband, isn't he as liable as if he was holding the whole article(s)?
RICO may make holding a portion worse than the whole thing as it may then be construed as a conspiracy, RICO allowing asset forfeiture. Alternatively holding a portion makes it more difficult for the attacker to determine who the holders are, and to mount a multi-jurisdictional attack (eg seizing disks in multiple countries). Not sure how it would work out in practice. Adam -- Now officially an EAR violation... Have *you* exported RSA today? --> http://www.dcs.ex.ac.uk/~aba/rsa/ print pack"C*",split/\D+/,`echo "16iII*o\U@{$/=$z;[(pop,pop,unpack"H*",<> )]}\EsMsKsN0[lN*1lK[d2%Sa2/d0<X+d*lMLa^*lN%0]dsXx++lMlN/dsM0<J]dsJxp"|dc`
At 4:26 PM -0800 1/13/98, Adam Back wrote:
phelix@vallnet.com writes:
On 11 Jan 1998 18:48:24 -0600, Adam Back <aba@dcs.ex.ac.uk> wrote: [secret splitting eternity data on servers]
What prevents the operator of such a server from being charged with "conspiracy to provide child porn" or whatever?
I expect so. I also expect the spooks will be the ones submitting the child porn to the service.
If he is holding a portion of such contraband, isn't he as liable as if he was holding the whole article(s)?
RICO may make holding a portion worse than the whole thing as it may then be construed as a conspiracy, RICO allowing asset forfeiture.
This is why I favor systems where there is no way to localize the holder of data. I'm unpersuaded that any of the Eternity proposals avoid this. If _any_ site holding data is localized (traced, identified), it _will_ come under legal, financial, or physical attack. If a "network of nodes" is the server, that network and any identifiable nodes in it will be attacked. It doesn't matter whether the precise server of a precise piece of data can be pinpointed. (Think of the Gestapo, the Inquisition, the Ayotollah, the BATF, and ask whether they would care if the exact machine had been isolated?) (Dangers of Eternity servers, a note: Also, the developers of such nodes, and such software, will be major targets, no matter where they live. In fact, how will source code for Eternity nodes be checked? It's hard enough checking PGP source code, and no one even bothers to try to check remailer source code for backdoors, bugs, etc. (no impugning of Mixmaster, but I see no mention of people checking it, etc.). My point is a simple one: even if Ryan Lackey leaves the country, as he says he plans to do, various entities will probably either harass him, or, more ominously, get him to modify the source code, to put "barium" in it, and all sorts of such things. Just a thought. Until I see proof that these suspicions are wrong, I can't get excited about any of the Eternity schemes. --Tim May The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, ComSec 3DES: 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^2,976,221 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."
participants (3)
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Adam Back -
phelix＠vallnet.com -
Tim May