June 2017 - cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

outlawing alcohol - reverse-psyching the world into drunkenness and lowliness
by Zenaan Harkness 26 Jun '17

26 Jun '17

The dark forboding Russian FSB are at it again with Putin leading this despotic charge - undermining the world with their heathen subtleties and deceptive lies. And literally targetting children no less! My God, who could believe it in this enlightened age? Don't believe it - drink! Drink till your soul is liberated from your body, your body from your soul, and your sanity from your humanity, as this is the only way to enjoy life. Just as well narcotics have not been outlawed either ... we could have a real problem on our hands. http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/06/secret-fsb-lecture-why-putin-doesnt.html SECRET FSB LECTURE: Why Putin doesn't drink alcohol

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Remember: Bitcoin is NSA
by A Satoshi Nakamoto 26 Jun '17

26 Jun '17

Do not forget: NSA Created Bitcoin and the Blockchain: groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/classes/6.805/articles/money/nsamint/nsamint.htm - - - - HOW TO MAKE A MINT: THE CRYPTOGRAPHY OF ANONYMOUS ELECTRONIC CASH Laurie Law, Susan Sabett, Jerry Solinas National Security Agency Office of Information Security Research and Technology Cryptology Division 18 June 1996 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1.WHAT IS ELECTRONIC CASH? 1.1 Electronic Payment 1.2 Security of Electronic Payments 1.3 Electronic Cash 1.4 Multiple Spending 2.A CRYPTOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTION 2.1 Public-Key Cryptographic Tools 2.2 A Simplified Electronic Cash Protocol 2.3 Untraceable Electronic Payments 2.4 A Basic Electronic Cash Protocol 3.PROPOSED OFF-LINE IMPLEMENTATIONS 3.1 Including Identifying Information 3.2 Authentication and Signature Techniques 3.3 Summary of Proposed Implementations 4.OPTIONAL FEATURES OF OFF-LINE CASH 4.1 Transferability 4.2 Divisibility 5.SECURITY ISSUES 5.1 Multiple Spending Prevention 5.2 Wallet Observers 5.3 Security Failures 5.4 Restoring Traceability CONCLUSION REFERENCES Electronic payment systems come in many forms including digital checks, debit cards, credit cards, and stored value cards. The usual security features for such systems are privacy (protection from eavesdropping), authenticity (provides user identification and message integrity), and nonrepudiation (prevention of later denying having performed a transaction) . The type of electronic payment system focused on in this paper is electronic cash. As the name implies, electronic cash is an attempt to construct an electronic payment system modelled after our paper cash system. Paper cash has such features as being: portable (easily carried), recognizable (as legal tender) hence readily acceptable, transferable (without involvement of the financial network), untraceable (no record of where money is spent), anonymous (no record of who spent the money) and has the ability to make "change." The designers of electronic cash focused on preserving the features of untraceability and anonymity. Thus, electronic cash is defined to be an electronic payment system that provides, in addition to the above security features, the properties of user anonymity and payment untraceability.. - - - -

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Decentralized Code Repositories [was: Windows source code leak]
by grarpamp 26 Jun '17

26 Jun '17

>> >> Would would be very amusing is to see Microsoft cry once someone >> >> creates librendows (Libre Windows) and puts this source code on >> >> github or something to make open source version of Windows and >> >> Windows software. >> > >> > Github would immediately shut it down once Microsoft sent them a DMCA >> > takedown notice. *Maybe* it might last a while on BitTorrent, if >> > anywhere. >> >> >> Github is too centralized anyways. What is the best decentralized git like >> system? > > It's not exactly what you're after, but given that the options for actual > decentralized backends seem few and far between (there was also GitChain > https://github.com/gitchain/gitchain There needs to be something... decentral, no admins / keyholders / bdfl's / corps, no power, anon... imagine the blocksize debate being determined therein without blockstream or anyone else... "longest chain" of code is "the code"... sidechains for branches, dao's for various things, the possibilities... > It's fairly trivial to set up a central repo that you push to, and have a > post-receive hook on it to forward any commits onto Github, Bitbucket and a > variety of other git-as-a-service providers. Spread across enough providers, > it makes take-downs harder (and you can easily just add a new provider - > there are plenty of github wannabe's out there, after all). > > You'd need to be fairly careful about making sure that central repo isn't > taken down, but again, it'd be trivial to replace if it were. > > You'd need to make sure discovery wasn't too hard, but that could be as > simple as providing links to the various providers in the repo's README so > that anyone with a copy of the README (or the internet archive) know where > else to look. :: GitTorrent (https://github.com/cjb/GitTorrent) :: Mango (https://github.com/axic/mango) There are some open repos: git usually on onion, monotone usually on i2p. As well as the usual file distribution, IPFS, [self]hosting services, etc therein. All would last much longer than anything involving clearnet... the various "scenes" would benefit to expand beyond clearnet whack a mole.

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Fwd: [liberationtech] Addressing Imbalances in Communications via Cryptographic Redaction
by Cecilia Tanaka 26 Jun '17

26 Jun '17

Forwarding Brian's message with much love and migraine. The love is for you and the migraine, unfortunately, is mine. :(( The pain is being so annoying, strong and constant I was remembering a movie named "Scanners": # https://youtu.be/d6GNs6MthtU # https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scanners Have a great weekend, dear all! <3 Ceci, feeling like Psyduck, but without the powers... Meh! :(( PS: - https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Psyduck_(Pok%C3%A9mon) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Brian Dickens <brian(a)hostilefork.com> Date: Sun, Jun 25, 2017 at 3:58 PM Subject: [liberationtech] Addressing Imbalances in Communications via Cryptographic Redaction To: liberationtech(a)lists.stanford.edu Hello Liberation Tech, I've made something which I think is a "liberation" kind of technology... a way of communicating that is (in my mind) a game-changer. It's more a shift in a way of thinking than so much a specific piece of software, kind of like "wiki" is. Nevertheless, there is an implementation, and I think a pretty good one. The concept is a HTML5 "jQuery" widget you can put on web forms (any number of them) which gives the author a redaction pen, to mark out sensitive portions. The sensitive portions are never sent to the server, but the rest of it can be. Then a certificate is generated allowing selective revelation to which parties you wish. There's explanation and a video on my site: http://blackhighlighter.hostilefork.com And a live demo hosted by Heroku: http://blackhighlighter.org I've written quite a bit about it already. But to sum it up, the idea is to "flip the inbox"...so that when you send a message the buck doesn't necessarily stop with the recipient. It sits--publicly searchable--with as much information in it protected as you wanted. You can't change what's in the protected portions after-the-fact, but you can give it to parties that you want; and the message can be repeated on as many servers as necessary, with no requirement to trust the server in order to verify missing portions if you have a certificate. Despite these different "views" on the information, it's a single trackable unit of communication with the same ID throughout its lifetime. I'm not generally a web developer (I used to write compilers for Microsoft Research) so learning enough JavaScript and Node.JS to do this was not my idea of "fun". But I am pretty serious about this. The more I look at how many potential failures there are in communication--whether it be spam filtering, or "ghosting"/"hellbanning", or just the recipient being unaccountable such that the right person to read your message doesn't have the chance to find it even if they wanted to... the more I feel Blackhighlighter is needed. Please feel free to write me or call me (# on my site)...or forward this to any potentially interested parties. If I don't get back to you, publish your message on Blackhighlighter and maybe someone else will ask who you are and seek out how to contact you to get any information you marked out. :-) Best, Brian

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Heaps of Windows 10 internal builds, private source code leak online
by Georgi Guninski 26 Jun '17

26 Jun '17

| https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/06/23/windows_10_leak/ | The data - some 32TB of official and non-public installation images and | software blueprints that compress down to 8TB - were uploaded to | betaarchive.com, the latest load of files provided just earlier this | week. It is believed the confidential data in this dump was exfiltrated | from Microsoft's in-house systems around March this year. | It is being described by some as a bigger leak than the Windows 2000 | source code blab in 2004.

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[RUS] [WAR] Saudi king-to-be bin-Salman: "our military capabilities will be enough to destruct Russian forces in Syria in 3 days"
by Zenaan Harkness 25 Jun '17

25 Jun '17

I guess this might bring the Syrian war to a close sooner than later. Wonders never cease. http://theduran.com/saudi-arabia-wont-go-soft-on-putin-anymore-vows-to-dest… Saudi Arabia won’t “go soft” on Putin anymore, vows to destroy “Russian forces in Syria in 3 days”

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Compelled Speech - the West racing headlong into new territory
by Zenaan Harkness 25 Jun '17

25 Jun '17

Free speech? Bah! Who needs it :/ ** So, You Want to Clean up the World — Can You Even Clean Your Room? How Jordan B. Peterson Is Bringing Order out of Chaos http://russia-insider.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fa2faf7034c3c3c413c… ------------------------------------------------------------ by Laurie Ring on Fri, Jun 23, 2017 A mild-mannered, soft-spoken, past middle-aged University of Toronto psychology professor with an adorable Ontario accent has taken over YouTube to fight political correctness and other chaos. Dr. Jordan B Peterson (JBP) has posted his lectures, and other random thoughts on social media. These postings are creating news ways of understanding the old ways of looking at the world. With a unique combination of evolutionary psychology, Jungian mythological psychology and the study of evil, he is breathing new life into the tired old binary between right wing and left wing ideological worldviews.

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Stephen Colbert Appears on Russian TV, Says He's Considering 2020 Run for President
by Zenaan Harkness 25 Jun '17

25 Jun '17

Stephen Colbert Appears on Russian TV, Says He's Considering 2020 Run for President http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stephen-colbert-says-hes-considering-… The American host added: "If anyone would like to work on my campaign, in an unofficial capacity, please just let me know." Taking one last shot of vodka, Colbert toasted, "A strong America, a strong Russia!" Urgant also made a toast, saying, "I'd like to make a toast to the beautiful country of the USA, which invented the Internet. Thanks to it, we can meddle with US elections." He went on to support Colbert's potential presidential run: "To you, Stephen! Good luck! We'll do everything possible to make sure you get elected." My comment: the problem is, Colbert's got no chance against Putin in the Russian elections - and it'll be mid-term anyway, so double uphill battle.

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IPA / Expose Facts / Whisper: Protecting National Security Whistleblowers
by grarpamp 25 Jun '17

25 Jun '17

https://whisper.exposefacts.org/ Protecting National Security Whistleblowers: A New Program ExposeFacts, a project of the Institute for Public Accuracy, is pleased to announce the launch of a new Whistleblower and Source Protection Program (WHISPeR). WHISPeR makes ExposeFacts the first journalistic organization to house a program dedicated entirely to providing affordable legal representation to whistleblowers and sources. See video announcement. To head WHISPeR, ExposeFacts has brought in internationally renowned whistleblower and human rights attorney Jesselyn Radack as National Security and Human Rights Director. Ms. Radack represents NSA whistleblowers Edward Snowden, Thomas Drake and William Binney, CIA torture whistleblower John Kiriakou and dozens of anonymous national security and intelligence whistleblowers and sources who have been fired, criminally investigated and punished for shedding light on government and corporate illegalities. Ms. Radack will be joined by National Security and Human Rights Deputy Director Kathleen McClellan, whose decade-plus of legal experience advocating for civil liberties and human rights reforms provides invaluable expertise and support. Launched by the Institute for Public Accuracy in 2014, ExposeFacts promotes whistleblowing with a unique blend of independent journalism, methodical organizing and public outreach. Institute for Public Accuracy Executive Director Norman Solomon said: “The government’s unprecedented crackdown on ‘national security’ whistleblowers using the Espionage Act has created a chilling atmosphere for sources and journalists, giving rise to a larger war on information that the public has a right to know. At ExposeFacts, our message from the beginning has been, ‘whistleblowers welcome.’ With the launch of WHISPeR, headed by the unmatched legal powerhouse Jesselyn Radack, ExposeFacts can now provide affordable top-notch legal representation directly to some whistleblowers and sources.” WHISPeR National Security and Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack said: “ExposeFacts is a cutting-edge initiative already recognizing the need for better source protection and making a tremendous positive impact for whistleblowers and investigative journalism. At WHISPeR, we provide journalists, sources, whistleblowers, and hacktivists with critical affordable legal protection, public advocacy, and the latest in encryption technology. It takes courageous individuals to speak truth to power. WHISPeR protects and amplifies their voices.”

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AES-256 keys sniffed in seconds using E200 of kit a few inches away
by Zenaan Harkness 25 Jun '17

25 Jun '17

AES-256 keys sniffed in seconds using E200 of kit a few inches away https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/06/23/aes_256_cracked_50_seconds_200_kit/ Sideband attacks that monitor a computer's electromagnetic output to snaffle passwords are nothing new. They usually require direct access to the target system and a lot of expensive machinery - but no longer. Researchers at Fox-IT have managed to wirelessly extract secret AES-256 encryption keys from a distance of one metre (3.3 feet) - using EUR200 (~US$224) worth of parts obtained from a standard electronics store - just by measuring electromagnetic radiation. At that distance sniffing the keys over the air took five minutes, but if an attacker got within 30 centimetres (11.8 inches) of a device, the extraction time is cut down to just 50 seconds.

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