April 2014 - cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

Acoustic bugging of computers
by jim bell 05 Apr '14

05 Apr '14

http://phys.org/news/2013-12-trio-rsa-encryption-keys-noise.html#nRlv (Phys.org) —A trio of researchers in Israel has discovered that it is possible to crack 4096-bit RSA encryption keys using a microphone to listen to high-pitch noises generated by internal computer components. Adi Shamir (co-inventor of RSA), Daniel Genkin and Eran Tromer have published a research paper describing the technique on a Tel Aviv University server. Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-12-trio-rsa-encryption-keys-noise.html#jCp Computers make noises, the researchers explain, far beyond the whirring of the fan. The CPU, for example, emits a high pitched noise as it operates, fluctuating depending on which operations it is performing—other components do likewise. Suspecting that they might be able to exploit this characteristic of computers, the researchers set about creating software to interpret noise data obtained using simple microphones and very little other equipment. They also focused exclusively on trying to achieve one single feat: deciphering an RSA encryption key. After much trial and effort, the researchers found it could be done without much effort. Listening and detecting the noise made by a computer as it processes a single character in an encryption key would be impossible, of course, so the researchers devised a method that causes the noise to be repeated enough times in a row to enable capture of its signal. And that can only happen if the attacker is able to send a cyphertext to the machine that is to be attacked and have it processed. The cyphertext contains code that causes looping. By listening to how the computer processes the cyphertext, the researchers can map the noises made by the computer as it crunches different characters, thereby allowing encryption keys sent by others to be cracked. What's perhaps most frightening about this method is how easily it can be ported to various machines. The researchers found, for example, that by using a laptop and simple hardware and software they were able to crack encryption keys on a second laptop. Next, they did the same thing using a cell phone as the listening device. They suggest it could also be packaged completely in software and sent out as malware, hacking encryption keys on infected devices and sending them back to the hacker. As a side-note, the researchers also found that low-bandwidth attacks on computers are also possible by measuring the electrical potential of a computer's chassis while the circuitry is busy doing its work. Explore further: Researchers at Toshiba design quantum network for secure communications More information: RSA Key Extraction via Low-Bandwidth Acoustic Cryptanalysis: www.tau.ac.il/~tromer/papers/acoustic-20131218.pdf Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-12-trio-rsa-encryption-keys-noise.html#jCp

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From Phys.org
by jim bell 05 Apr '14

05 Apr '14

http://phys.org/news/2014-04-unbreakable-codes-nature.html#nRlv A revolutionary new method of encrypting confidential information has been patented by scientists at Lancaster University. Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-04-unbreakable-codes-nature.html#jCp They have been inspired by their discoveries from human biology, which model how the heart and lungs coordinate their rhythms by passing information between each other. A mathematical model based on the complex interaction between these organs has now been transferred to the world of modern communications. This discovery could transform daily life which is reliant on secure electronic communications for everything from mobiles to sensor networks and the internet. Every device, from your car key to online bank account, contains different identification codes enabling information to be transferred in confidence. But the race to outwit the hackers means there is a continual demand for better encryption methods. Inspiration for the new method of encryption came from interdisciplinary research in the Physics Department (www.physics.lancs.ac.uk/research/nonlinear-and-biomedical-physics) by Dr Tomislav Stankovski, Professor Peter McClintock, and Professor Aneta Stefanovska, and the patent includes Dr Robert Young. Professor McClintock commented that this is a significant discovery. He said: "This promises an encryption scheme that is so nearly unbreakable that it will be equally unwelcome to internet criminals and official eavesdroppers." Professor Stefanovska emphasized the interdisciplinary aspect: "As so often happens with important breakthroughs, this discovery was made right on the boundary between two different subjects – because we were applying physics to biology." Dr Stankovski said: "Here we offer a novel encryption scheme derived from biology, radically different from any earlier procedure. Inspired by the time-varying nature of the cardio-respiratory coupling functions recently discovered in humans, we propose a new encryption scheme that is highly resistant to conventional methods of attack." The advantage of this discovery is that it offers an infinite number of choices for the secret encryption key shared between the sender and receiver. This makes it virtually impossible for hackers and eavesdroppers to crack the code. The new method is exceptionally resistant to interference from the random fluctuations or "noise" which affects all communications systems. It can also transmit several different information streams simultaneously, enabling all the digital devices in the home, for example, to operate on one encryption key instead of dozens of different ones. Explore further: Advancing privacy and security in the cloud More information: Tomislav Stankovski, Peter V. E. McClintock, and Aneta Stefanovska , "Coupling Functions Enable Secure Communications," American Physical Society's journal Physical Review X, journals.aps.org/prx/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevX.4.011026 Journal reference: Physical Review X Provided by Lancaster University Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-04-unbreakable-codes-nature.html#jCp

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Re: [cryptography] Tails
by John Young 04 Apr '14

04 Apr '14

Informative tweets on Tails security since the fund-raising announcement: http://cryptome.org/2014/04/tails-security.pdf At 09:09 AM 4/4/2014, you wrote: >Has anyone looked at Tails? > >http://www.salon.com/2014/04/02/crucial_encryption_tool_enabled_nsa_reporti… > > > Crucial encryption tool enabled NSA reporting on shoestring budget > >Big players in Snowden revelations publicly praise Tails, in hope of >gaining much-needed funding for the tool

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TROLL ALERT!!(cari machet our resident soft in the head fake indian leftist)
by Anonymous Remailer (austria) 03 Apr '14

03 Apr '14

Cari Machet is our resident soft in the head fake indian leftist who cant spell!! DONT expect logic or rational thought from this entity.. anon

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Google can grow up to not be evil
by beam 03 Apr '14

03 Apr '14

"By working together with those that harvest value from nature, Google can quickly create a truly non-evil system for all. We suggest that the “there is one way and that way is secure, economically-viable-and-self-extending, anonymous and untraceable” is the policy to adopt, in that order. We are happy to amplify this." Source: http://courtofrecord.co.uk/US/US-Google-cover/

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Re: Geoff Stone, Obama's Review Group
by Softy 03 Apr '14

03 Apr '14

> Have to say it seems more plausible to me that they did a faux-forthright > job of answering questions from this new review process. I mean what else > could they do? Stonewall? > > Adam > > I'll suggest a slightly different scenario. One in which Stone is presenting his honest opinion, and in which what he spoke is accurate. I don't know much about him - I think I'm fairly safe in stating prior to his Review panel he never went close to, let alone through, the Ft. Meade perimeter onto NSA grounds. Doing so is awe inspiring. Not just with heady notions of which agency, and its history, runs the building; but also seeing the scale of the operations. It's a visceral reminder of the power of the United States - both of it's good and bad aspects. So, I suggest Mr. Stone was overwhelmed and genuinely convinced of what he saw: he wanted to see a behemoth of an organization full of sun-glassed covert agents running amok. Rather he saw slightly shabbily dressed day workers interspersed with the occasional suit, all surrounded by uniformed members of the five military branches as well as those of five other countries. Second, I suggest the NSA ( and any other semi-/fully- covert agency ) can easily "expose" all of its bookkeeping for review without exposing anything it doesn't want exposed. They don't need to be secretive - the nature of the organization is so silo'd, looking in from any combination of directions would never give any indication of a compartment unless one knew where and how to request that compartment by name. The result is the Review panel feels they came away with a complete understanding of the Agency, and the individuals came away with a knew understanding of what Power means, and how it is applied into the world. Some of that understanding is valid - some isn't. Lastly, I think taking Mr. Stone's words as only about the NSA is a mistake. He was writing to, and about, the Agency employees. Namely, suggesting to them they might do better in the future to continually re-evaluate their bosses; rather than assuming "father knows best." And this is the best possible oversight - the tens of thousands of employees are as American as anyone, they have it in their own best interest not to tolerate abuses by their bosses. Sadly that type of oversight is insufficient, but that mindset within the majority of employees is crucial and what I think Mr. Stone was trying to enrich. go easy, -daniel

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Re: Investigating the Investigators
by shelley＠misanthropia.info 02 Apr '14

02 Apr '14

On Tue, Apr 1, 2014, at 08:02 PM, jim bell wrote: > Group of people who burgled the FBI in 1971 > https://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-news/trailer--fbi-whistleblowers-revea… Thanks for posting this. It's so timely and historically important. Can't wait to see it. Hey Jim, what happened with the Yahoo account you were locked out of? Did you ever get the lost emails and contacts restored? -Shelley > On March 8, 1971, a group of anti-war activists broke into an FBI office > in Media, Pennsylvania, and changed the course of history. > The burglars wound up blowing the whistle on illegal surveillance and > bullying tactics employed by J. Edgar Hoover and his government agency — > and despite one of the biggest FBI dragnets ever, the perpetrators were > never caught and their identities remained secret… until now. > The new documentary "1971" reveals these former political radicals as > they tell their story on film for the first time. At the time of the > break-in, anti-war activists believed they were being watched by the FBI. > Bonnie and John Raines, a married couple with three children, had > participated in rallies and were photographed by suspected govenment > agents. That prompted them to join the group, which eventually swiped > more than 1,000 documents. > Billing themselves as 'The Citizens Commission to Investigate the FBI,' > the members took serious risks to deliver the stolen FBI documents to the > press. "We knew that if we got caught, we were going to face very serious > prison time," says John Raines in the film (as seen in the trailer)."If > the FBI was suppressing dissent, it was as important to expose that as it > was to end the war," says journalist Betty Medsger, who is responsible > for exposing the burglars's identities. She wrote the new book "The > Burglary" and worked closely with "1971" filmmakers. > "Break into an FBI office, remove files, and mail them to newspapers," > says Bonnie Raines of the plan. It was not haphazard. They cased the FBI > building in Media for weeks, tracking comings and goings and drawing up > detailed maps and a plan. > Multiple setbacks nearly halted the operation. "A couple of weeks before > the break-in date, one person in the group dropped out — simply walked > away. This person knew every detail of their plans. The risk that he > would expose them was huge. They went ahead anyway," says "1971" director > and producer Johanna Hamilton. "The break-in itself almost didn't happen. > When the chief lock-picker arrived, he found the lock on the FBI's door > was different than the one he had been practicing for. So the whole > process was much more complicated and tenuous than they originally > thought," she tells Yahoo Movies. > Once the documents were taken, the group spent days scanning them to find > evidence of FBI wrongdoing, according to a recent New York Times report. > They sent copies of the most revealing documents to journalists, one of > whom was Medsger of the Washington Post. She was one of few journalists > who acted on the information. > The biggest discovery was finding that Hoover ran a covert operation with > the code name COINTELPRO, under which the FBI would survey, infiltrate, > discredit, and disrupt political groups and U.S. citizens deemed > "subversive." Much of the activity was illegal. > > The burglary which exposed COINTELPRO led to the first-ever congressional > investigation of U.S. intelligence agencies, and as a result the > operation was terminated.The documents revealed that a wide array of > postal workers, police, and even switchboard operators were used as FBI > informants. Martin Luther King Jr. was a major target of COINTELPRO, with > agents having him under surveillance and repeatedly bugging his home and > hotel rooms. > "What is consistently amazing to me is the fact that only one of the > documents they stole contained the caption COINTELPRO. It was that one > document that would lead to the full revelation of FBI dirty tricks," > says Hamilton. > Another stunning revelation: Hoover's program had been running since > 1956. "By 1971 so many people and groups had been put under > surveillance," says Hamilton. "Basically there was blanket surveillance > of African Americans — both well known, like the Black Panthers, and less > known, everyday people, students, people who were active in communal > African-American life." > "1971" debuts at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on April 18.

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Investigating the Investigators
by jim bell 02 Apr '14

02 Apr '14

Group of people who burgled the FBI in 1971 https://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-news/trailer--fbi-whistleblowers-revea… On March 8, 1971, a group of anti-war activists broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, and changed the course of history. The burglars wound up blowing the whistle on illegal surveillance and bullying tactics employed by J. Edgar Hoover and his government agency — and despite one of the biggest FBI dragnets ever, the perpetrators were never caught and their identities remained secret… until now. The new documentary "1971" reveals these former political radicals as they tell their story on film for the first time. At the time of the break-in, anti-war activists believed they were being watched by the FBI. Bonnie and John Raines, a married couple with three children, had participated in rallies and were photographed by suspected govenment agents. That prompted them to join the group, which eventually swiped more than 1,000 documents. Billing themselves as 'The Citizens Commission to Investigate the FBI,' the members took serious risks to deliver the stolen FBI documents to the press. "We knew that if we got caught, we were going to face very serious prison time," says John Raines in the film (as seen in the trailer)."If the FBI was suppressing dissent, it was as important to expose that as it was to end the war," says journalist Betty Medsger, who is responsible for exposing the burglars's identities. She wrote the new book "The Burglary" and worked closely with "1971" filmmakers. "Break into an FBI office, remove files, and mail them to newspapers," says Bonnie Raines of the plan. It was not haphazard. They cased the FBI building in Media for weeks, tracking comings and goings and drawing up detailed maps and a plan. Multiple setbacks nearly halted the operation. "A couple of weeks before the break-in date, one person in the group dropped out — simply walked away. This person knew every detail of their plans. The risk that he would expose them was huge. They went ahead anyway," says "1971" director and producer Johanna Hamilton. "The break-in itself almost didn't happen. When the chief lock-picker arrived, he found the lock on the FBI's door was different than the one he had been practicing for. So the whole process was much more complicated and tenuous than they originally thought," she tells Yahoo Movies. Once the documents were taken, the group spent days scanning them to find evidence of FBI wrongdoing, according to a recent New York Times report. They sent copies of the most revealing documents to journalists, one of whom was Medsger of the Washington Post. She was one of few journalists who acted on the information. The biggest discovery was finding that Hoover ran a covert operation with the code name COINTELPRO, under which the FBI would survey, infiltrate, discredit, and disrupt political groups and U.S. citizens deemed "subversive." Much of the activity was illegal. The burglary which exposed COINTELPRO led to the first-ever congressional investigation of U.S. intelligence agencies, and as a result the operation was terminated.The documents revealed that a wide array of postal workers, police, and even switchboard operators were used as FBI informants. Martin Luther King Jr. was a major target of COINTELPRO, with agents having him under surveillance and repeatedly bugging his home and hotel rooms. "What is consistently amazing to me is the fact that only one of the documents they stole contained the caption COINTELPRO. It was that one document that would lead to the full revelation of FBI dirty tricks," says Hamilton. Another stunning revelation: Hoover's program had been running since 1956. "By 1971 so many people and groups had been put under surveillance," says Hamilton. "Basically there was blanket surveillance of African Americans — both well known, like the Black Panthers, and less known, everyday people, students, people who were active in communal African-American life." "1971" debuts at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on April 18.

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