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Re: [tor-dev] bananaphone obfsproxy module
by David Stainton 30 Oct '13

30 Oct '13

Howdy, Thanks. Your obfsproxy is a nice piece of work. Bananaphone + Obfs2 sounds cool! Modular transport chains make a lot of sense... I like modular transports... recently for fun I wrote a VPN in Python Twisted [https://github.com/david415/hushVPN] using twisted consumers and producers. My idea was to have a modular system where transports could easily be swapped. Over UDP it's very fast and I was thinking that maybe I could reuse some of that code to write packet transports for obfsproxy. For instance Tor over ICMP, DNS etc... Obfs2 over Bananaphone over UDP? Right now the david-bananaphone branch is functional code. I've tested it with ssh. SSH over Markov chains! It's laggy but it works. Leif's design plans are interesting... He will be better at explaining it. Perhaps it does something similar to your idea of RHE + Obfs2. Briefly: RHE(CRYPTO(HAMMERTIME(TOR))) - RHE is Banaphone's markov or random weighted Reverse Hash Encoding - CRYPTO is NaCl crypto_stream - Hammertime: "adds chaff to a bytestream to impede passive timing analysis" The goal is to not have any distinguishable patterns in the byte stream. Is that what Obfs2 accomplishes? We will do the crypto_stream secret key exchange using NaCl crypto_box and Elligator; spewing noise after keys are sent Elligator etc... We were thinking to first implement the key exchange without Elligator... and do that part later. I'm working on the basic key exchange to work in branch david-bananaphone-keyexchange https://github.com/david415/obfsproxy/tree/david-bananaphone-keyexchange I'm currently troubleshooting a problem with the message passing... Maybe I do not understand your api well enough... I'm getting strange behavior. It would help if another pair of eyes would look at this. Perhaps later I will formulate a question regarding the obfsproxy api... And I was hoping Leif would help me fix this branch: david-bananaphone-nacl-hammertime https://github.com/david415/obfsproxy/tree/david-bananaphone-nacl-hammertime I wrote a naclStreamEncoder coroutine and made hammertime_rh_server return coroutine chains with the NaCl stream encoders. It doesn't work at all... really a rough draft scribbling of code that makes the BananaPhoneBuffer unit tests through an exception... OK. I will add ALL commandline options to obfsproxy-bananaphone! OK... bandwidth overhead calculations... I'll take a look and run some tests. Onward! David On Tue, Oct 29, 2013 at 7:19 PM, George Kadianakis <desnacked(a)riseup.net> wrote: > Greetings, > > I'm the guy who develops obfsproxy. I recently noticed that you are > writing a bananaphone module for it. The code looks good and you even > understood the pretty-much undocumented obfsproxy API! Nice! > > BTW, I thought I should let you know that we are currently writing > software that combines transports together in chains. This means that > you don't have to worry about data redundancy in bananaphone, since > you can combine it with an obfuscating transport like obfs2 to create > the following chain: > tor data -> |obfs2 encoding| ->|bananaphone encoding| -> tor bridge -> |bananaphone decoding| ->|obfs2 decoding| -> tor data > This would create a bananaphone-encoded channel which transfers > obfs2'ed Tor data (so the bananaphone traffic will look uniform, since > obfs2 data is uniform (whether uniform bananaphone traffic is useful for > censorship circumvention is a different story))). > > FWIW, we are still in the process of writing this transport > combiner. You can read more about it in: > https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/7167 > https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/9744 > https://gitweb.torproject.org/pluggable-transports/obfs-flash.git > We should also create a Wiki page about it soon, I guess. > > Anyway, this transport combiner business means that you only have to > worry about making the bananaphone transport work. It would also be > nice if the transport was configurable, so that we can tweak its > parameters easily. I would also be interested in some bandwidth > overhead calculations :) > > BTW, feel free to send me any questions you have about obfsproxy or > pluggable transports. > > Cheers! > > PS: Feel free to CC the public tor-dev mailing list in your reply if > you want. _______________________________________________ tor-dev mailing list tor-dev(a)lists.torproject.org https://lists.torproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tor-dev

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srf: reiteration (state, the obvious)
by brian carroll 30 Oct '13

30 Oct '13

self-reply to previous reply, referencing John Young quote: > PKC and anonymizers have become a celebrity drugs. > > if the above, then perhaps in a twisted drug-war context of setup, > an entire manufacturing and distribution network required, and > profit-motive of business model driving the maldevelopment that > can be exploited or used as a control for behavior or agendas > in other words: CRYPTO IS APPLIED POLITICS in the given domain yet is it accurately and-or actively accounted for in these dimensions, beyond intention and into its total evaluation of how it exists and can be subverted against use & in relation to principles, goals, agendas or does a lack of this security audit establish a false perspective, perhaps aiding and abetting hidden tyranny, political engineering

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Re: [cryptome] embassyification
by brian carroll 30 Oct '13

30 Oct '13

John Young <jya(a)pipeline.com> wrote: > Yes, there is finally coverage of the physical architecture of > spying not just the "digital-architecture" of slides, texts > and hyperbole. > > Duncan Campbell has reported on this physical architecture > of hardware and facilities for decades and has advised > several of the journalists covering the NSA releases who > lack his experience and technical knowledge. Jacob > Appelbaum confirms, others have not yet done so, and may > be incapable of admitting limited knowledge after building > careers of knowledgeability, yes, this is about cryptology > and anonymity. i remember encountering the idea of TEMPEST radiation from cryptome, in terms of the electromagnetic domain that remains unaccounted for in architectural history, and while the questions are wide-open at that point, in a changed paradigm, it did provide example of how differently a scenario could exist than otherwise documented or believed to. in terms of concepts in architecture alone, that a wall separates two areas, acting as a barrier, when with electromagnetic and radio waves this is no longer the situation (for 100 or more years, in physics terms). so too, technology, that a screen is somehow bounded by an observer's own vision, even while no others are present, as this relates to remote observation via compromised equipment yet also, emissions that can be sniffed via these extended physics in a domain that remains unaccounted for, except within those military or security contexts were security is audited this way my question is today, how much of the security model is fiction, based on outdated assumptions and terms of relation, such that the observers themselves are potentially viewed 'trustworthy' by default, or may be themselves androids with supercomputing powers, hidden group analysis, decentralized shared perspectives via cellular tower pseudo-psi networking, made individual, identical in form to a human though in function operating in another realm than is standardized, therefore any interaction could be insecure if not accounting for crypto territory lost for defense in depth what if they can read your mind, for instance, and see what you see, how well would crypto function in that domain and in what terms. the only way i can think of is to function in a realm that is out-of-bounds for oppositional perception, that is not going to be calculated correctly due to distortions and that will promote errors of perception of the shared perspective so what if TEMPEST extends into alien or hostile android territory where surveillance is ubiquitous at the level of the optic nerve already, such that any thought can be reinterpreted by another and thus information and views can be pilfered - ideas that would lead to inventions or careers, stolen or expropriated, and with an advantage of space-time manipulation, taken over and represented as if the works of oppositional others, as if the thinker is stealing their ideas than the covert swindle involved structurally, based on compromised, unaudited technology allowing for such siphoning or data extraction, various wellheads drilled and gushing data to be exploited, monetized in the future backwards into present day how well does reading/writing or thinking to self or communicating challenge or get beyond any of this, or is it forced to operate within such confines and the security, secrecy, privacy issue involves the way truth is mediated by the differing views, versus various many technical solutions that are by default insecure as methods, as the problem of the THIS IS THE SECRET then always preexists and is structuralized, handing away the labeled data into others' filing cabinets to be thusly exploited, likely automatically this way if you can see through walls these days, even through minds, and yet this is not accounted for in threat or relational modeling, how can crypto stand a chance as an idea if the very domain it exists within cannot be acknowledged in the terms it exists > PKC and anonymizers have become a celebrity drugs. if the above, then perhaps in a twisted drug-war context of setup, an entire manufacturing and distribution network required, and profit-motive of business model driving the maldevelopment that can be exploited or used as a control for behavior or agendas > Moreover, the valorization of comsec coding over the > physical architecture has misled both the coders and > their public about the weaknesses of comsec, a gaping > hole through which national spies have driven large > trucks to gather and transport mountains of data while > the cyber-guards gaze at online security programs, > engoring large fees for 24x7 protection, search and > destroy, Stuxnet, virii, hacks, 0-days, terrifying > kaboodle. this makes me think more than anything that perhaps security theater aligns with GAMIFICATION http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification there could be several concurrent strategies or co-existing efforts though some could involve 'winning' the rigged game, whether or not this is involved in the subversion or involves conquering of territory and taking over the flag (sign/symbol) of another, as if x-marks-the-spot hidden treasure captured what does it mean to be in magazines and have work that is reviewed in terms not realistic to the existing environment, is it a form of disinformation or camouflage, battlefield smoke canisters and smoke grenades, to what extent is the imagery or projection of the World Movie readily already understood to be fiction or farce, stage scenery and what does it imply if the image itself (signs signs signs) are a false viewpoint, especially in a context of unshared ID with aliens, robots, hostile others including deranged hominids & zookeepers how truthful is security discussion of ideas, how bounded in a limiting context that does not include necessary data or variables yet seeks to reason inclusively about goings- on, as if everything is an impermeable wall, ideologically, while knowing the porousness of its dematerialization what if the context is too limiting, too much software, too narrow a view of hardware in the context of discoveries as if this are not employed in black sites, ops, projects; meaning: mind-reading by machine, injection of thoughts, communication via implants and cellular technologies, existence of human-identity robots, androids, aliens, hostile and friendly. computer power far beyond anything existing in the commercial or public sector, operational, massive surveillance in local environment by competing groups as the normal situation, vietnam-war like division of culture along ideological lines, everything politicized at the level of decision-making, real war going on within bureaucracy and peoples lives, while a sitting President oversees the situation as if a detached Egyptian Pharaoh, pleased with the dual-use development, the deterioration and incapacitation of lives needed to do the work needed, making it harder and harder via each next policy this way including this correlated to attacks on citizens seeking to right the ship of state, active hostilities against this via the dug-in political establishment itself, hostile to constitutional interpretation beyond their private agenda what if the head of state is functioning against the state in its greater purpose, and is the short-circuit occurring, far worse than predecessors, an image-based consensus that allows mass marketing of one-way ideology and of mediocrity to be the swan song for a dying civilization, as if the death cry is now the only remaining freedom (self-satisfied egocentric ideologues hatred, loving this) > Keep in mind this which has received almost no > attention now or in the past: > > What is online and on the roof of embassies is not > the source of most spying, that is a ruse. [there is this, which follows below, though another view of it could be what is not accounted for in these same terms, yet remains hidden in the existing landscape, where embassyification of the built environment occurs, whether via surveillance cameras and sensors and mics, hidden or unhidden, as well as antenna, phone taps, etc. say as it relates to compromised routers and voip data, or powerline networking that can radio siphon out data, yet could remain undocumented or unaccounted for... though give surveillers god-like powers via this gap in how situations are accounted for, via 'magic' technology) the points and perspective below are going to be evaluated in the framework introduced, as it opens up questioning to the majority of what is not being accounted for, apparently. yet wanted to make a technical point prior to this, and then add to it in that subsequent context for further consideration: basically it involves 'antennas' on rooftops of buildings, mainly mid-size or tall buildings that also can have a telecommunications relay or antenna array at the top, not sure if this is called a utility nest or what, besides elevator or door access to roof and HVAC equipment. aesthetics here are important because the distinction made is that there could be crypto.surveillance or undocumented activity that is not being accounted for in evaluations of how things actually exist and function, that allows this political leeway and undocumented power to take hold & exploit it for political gain, an entire infrastructure and environment made this way, mismapped and mismatched in terms of signage and sayings, of what goes on as it differs from what really is going on, that a security failure of highest magnitude- peoples conceptions divorced from reality, thus the illiteracy allowing the covert programs their hidden domain to function within, mostly friction-free; except say when Duncan Campbell or others intervene, and thus issues of how this is managed, politically, yet also, the role of censorship, control of viewpoint and of perspective, what limits or thresholds are observed and when are the restrictions lifted to grounded the old and outdated model in a newer more realistic scenario that can help people understand and navigate the situation, giving a change at evaluating what is going on, directly, instead of relying on remote perspectives for their sight in this way, the mundane antenna array atop buildings, which could range from commercial or other applications (state data networks, WANs, radio, cellular broadcast, along with taxi, trucking, transport dispatch, guessing). and that this market for antennas on 'rooftop real estate' is booming, especially with wi-fi if not wimax or whatever is going on with those standards. note: this development is minus any accounting for the actual health effects of such antenna placements and the science studies have been skewed and disregard exposure scenarios, removing any kind of regulation as to this profit-filled roll-out of what can be harmful signaling that swamps entire environments, including people and surrounding wildlife, signilified this way consider this residential tower in Minneapolis... https://www.dropbox.com/s/yxxogxr190chkoc/array1.PNG https://www.dropbox.com/s/1rpi0p7l1ne8qzq/array1b.PNG now even while i only have the most limited knowledge of any of this, having read a small book on antennas and having thought quite a bit on the topics, it does seem quite evident that there are six mast antenna 'spires' atop the crown of this skeletal Rockefeller-Center-esque building and thus underneath the polycarbonate sheath, i presume there are six mast (dipole?) antenna, that could be involved in a wide range of communication functioning, including broadcast and reception of various signals that could span from outsourced to in-house systems. likely unknowns to the public unless there are open databases with leases yet it would seem unlikely if the networks were 'hidden' that any such data would say - this is a secret telecom network that is linking together various buildings and locations and also mobile communications. it is not simply about speculating, to some degree or other, of the multitude of such buildings with such antenna, somewhere within them these other 'hidden networks' must exist alongside the commercial or other normalized services with various delineating signage and what is referenced here is the blending of the antenna with the exoskeletal detailing of the building facade (unsure if it is partly structural, if outer wall carrying weight beyond itself or not, see- no practical architectural knowledge here in conventional terms) yet this "structure" of concrete is turned into the plastic and metal of hidden antenna at its peak, which then is dematerialized in this same paradigm, and operating at approximately 186,000 miles per second, and move through walls and extend into remote geographies even while appearing as part of the old building structure, its hidden functioning not apparent to those unknowing of its purpose or what dimensions it is operating within so consider someone who moves into the building is an android and lives beneath this radiating antenna array. they may be unaffected by it. as might an alien whose immune system has adapted to electromagnetic radiation thus it is non-toxic to their biological or genetic systems; in contrast, imagine a human moves into the apartments below this antenna array that involves regular long-term exposure of massive radiation that could be unshielded and sustain higher levels of atmospheric disruption via breakdown of ozone, or other dynamics that interfere with cells in the body or brainwaves, and that existing laws likely do not require any health requirement in the terms known to exist that it is a harmful situation that existing scientific studies have confirmed is conducive to leukemia and cancer, while dismissing other exposure so a developer could sell rooftop real estate for arrays of high powered antennas radiating electromagnetic signals, and the tenants below may be unaware of the detrimental health effects and there is apparently no obligation to do anything about this, to notify them or limit such exposure to citizens, given the existing "walls" approach to reality, as if the situation is about concrete only, no radiation here now scale this down to wi-fi antennas within apartments on larger antenna atop apartment buildings with people sleeping and staying beneath them, long-term exposure, while massive profit could be made at the expense of the health of people living in proximity to these antenna, due to negligence, non-accountability, and political cover that provides for this onesided development, ignoring costs that go beyond the parameters of evaluation. in this way, a question of antenna moves into the infrastructure at large, what of all the unshielded equipment radiating harmful radiation in every direction, filling up the entire atmosphere with a fog of electromagnetic signals and damaging toxic energy, breaking down the stratum of consciousness sustained in these realms and replacing it with cellular towers to transit such data via brute force. if able to overlay a screen upon the world as it is, that would suddenly show all these signals in a given space, as if a dig of a sector of the artificial electromagnetic environment, what would be excavated in terms of the signaling-- would it be a realm once placid and now incoherent with energy, a cosmic soup of data yet that is mostly noise for whatever signals arrived and are put to use, versus what is transmitted, broadcast. how to account for this if it remains invisible, including mainly in the mind's eye, not allowed to consider or have sight of such ideas because they harm those who are exploiting these dimensions, harmfully the larger point here is of crypto.development, secret projects in the mundane landscape. like when you walk by street furniture or car barriers and suddenly it dawns on you how this could be a torturer's place of work in some future dystopian day, that level of correspondence. and so setting the stage, creating the workshop & tools. yet what may be already existing in these dimensions and yet hidden, though likely 'secret bases' disclosures, like those ubiquitous underground fort bunkers or whatnot so, this is leading to an idea pondered for years now, of hidden antenna systems within buildings. it relates to both HAARP and high voltage powerlines, infrastructure in that you could send up massive torsional EMF waves into the atmosphere, not only for over the horizon radar or whatever protective bubble or warfare it may allow, it could also be for weather control of cloud systems and likely switching various patterns if not jet streams (not sure how it works) via electromagnetic influence. so it is a massive grid array of antennas that shoot signals or waves of energy that effects weather superstructure so too, the long-distance powerline network seems to have similar potential if a pulsed signal or other type of torsional energy could be emitted as EMFs atop the normal transmission of power. in that 'radio' naturally is connected as radiating energy, and perhaps these could function as enormous antenna to transmit energy that could effect weather formation over a geography at national and global scale, as networked, coordinated still, quite banal, though would not surprise in the least, given that this engineering is going on and also involves an active political agenda. so a question of how, not if. and then curiouser and curiouser, architectural detailing seemingly becomes more and more superficial, artificial, not serving a functional purpose, questionable aesthetics then calling into question the possibility that the "extras" could be covert signaling devices, if not energy antenna for precisely such weather control or other data signaling, such as reception of satellite signals beyond dish format metal armature on nearby apartment complex https://www.dropbox.com/s/mlo50moypbho399/array2.PNG https://www.dropbox.com/s/sxxww1bgaxn26pp/array2b.PNG https://www.dropbox.com/s/qt2zt1c902fplr8/array2c.PNG now obviously it is 'off-limits' or out-of-bounds to consider a covert antenna array as part of a building design, and yet if that was a ubiquitous practice in an era of surveillence and it were occurring in such dimensionality as haarp, say that it was connected with weather modification, such that either a torsional pulse wave could be sent upward and channel clouds and weather into certain patterns, and-or receive long-wave or other data transmitted and received this way, would it not be important to recognize a superfluous detail that has no 'ivy' hanging on it and functions as if purely a technical detail, no pretense of decoration even, to block the sun for daylighting, nothing. just balls out antenna. and yet illegal to evaluate in these domains, architectural- wise and ideologically, because if it were true it is its very secrecy that allows it to continue to function in this way. speculation, yet the reality of weather modification tied to Global Warming and shifting weather patterns, and this connected with 'green politics', carbon tax & credits, melting icecaps, and local & global political organization, movement, green jobs, green products, green economy, green buildings for fuckin' fucksake -- all this BULLSHIT as it exists within a context of crypto.politics and also crypto.development, a hidden agenda within development and the state, aligned with the same coordinated downfall and reemergence in these new, warped, confined terms that are only realistic inside the controlled private bubble, this becoming religion, mass media dogma, programming, indoctrination into a value system, funneled into commodity so, just consider what it would mean if building occupants were covertly aligned with such an hidden political agenda and the building itself was creating the political conditions via engineering weather, to enable the organization to exist and further develop - as such, if this weather engineering is occurring, how can it not be occurring in a highly biased ideological framework that is politicized and designed for profit-itself, as the deterioration and disruption and control of weather is tied to policies, jobs, products, industries, careers, political groups, rigged voter scenarios, agendas that are undocumented in these same terms, as is their connection to such weather engineering as if 'humans are at fault' explains everything, as the false perspective and setup required for the takedown, ongoing takeover if you exclude electromagnetism from the analysis, it cannot exist as a building function or in its programming yet more and more in this stealth surveillance landscape such systems are appearing as part of the infrastructure, who is really accounting for all this (beyond the military) further, i have long though of normal curtain wall buildings as hidden antenna arrays, having this capacity, perhaps those giant loops in SIGINT or radar facilities making it seem most likely such covert antennas exist everywhere and how would or could they be accounted for unless able to detect and measure the signaling, especially locally on site, monitoring in-building power systems, "extra-effects", as harmonics or other overlapping signals ride carrierwave then recently, upon viewing the video of Duncan Campbell investigating the secret intercept tower between England and Ireland for documenting all telecommunication traffic, the thinking about these hidden antenna went even further Channel Four: Capenhurst Tower // video http://www.duncancampbell.org/embassy-bugging what if buildings themselves were these secret intercept towers, and such functioning could be masked by ordinary and everyday aesthetics that route into hidden systems, say a building that is line-of-site between transmitters, or dual-use or prop-antenna for commercial services that captures and parses intercepted data otherwise -- could you even tell from just looking at a telecom installation in terms of these dynamics or would you need to map out and trace every last connection and its processing to figure out whatever hidden functionality _could exist, as part of a threat model of ordinary, everyday landscape in this way, what if a curtain wall on a building was able to covertly function as a static radar or beam energy for weather engineering or receive satellite or broadcast data in unknown frequencies yet appear as if a building material and nothing else, though having electromagnetic or other hidden properties that allow such functionality, and then secrets, security, crypto, privacy in this context, rule of law which may not rule over such hidden domains > Every building has a unique identification (UID) based > on its comprehensive materiality of building materials, > mechanical and electrical systems, shape, spaces, > usage, population, devices used by inhabitants (coming > and going and resting), rate of deterioration, repairs, > renovations. This in addition to official records in > a slew of regulating agencies, contracts for services, > networks, bugs, taps, implants, human spies, automation, > fautly security systems. > > In effect, every building is a transceiver of its metadata > and its contents without need for the ruse of local > penetration. Just an ocean-going vessel, aircraft or > satellite. Virtually nothing is being done to prevent > this self-disclosing transceiving. Tempest protection > is insignificant, and SCIFs are ridiculous. does the existing 'security paradigm' involve a failure of imagination that provides a gap for exploits to secure themselves within? is there a shared lack of reality that is a failure of relativist thinking, lacking open logical reasoning, modeling what is happening and how and instead it is heavily regulated, self-censored or limited so that conversations of existing truth cannot occur, due to rules against it. thus disallowing naming something what it is, and the exploit of this further, what of e-wiring in buildings as antenna. many studies demonstrate data can be sent through such systems, and that there are connections beyond walls of inside-outside electrical networks in their 60 cycle hums, as equipment is aligned, and peoples nervous systems, to this clock cycle, hidden rhythm why for crypto no mention of EMF blocking paint, curtains, carpet, Faraday-cage borders that limit emissions, what of shielding to prevent EMFs from allowing data exfiltration or other such known means of access, egress into the safe what of health itself in terms of security in a toxic wasteland of electromagnetic signaling, every dwelling a cemetery plot in those dimensions, killing cells by the nanosecond ongoing perhaps too many implants and too many cyborgs and robots and androids and aliens commonplace yet unmentionable, thus the reality in the silence and unsaid and unsayable, the big secrets still the global currency while those duped at the local level myself battle it out in a psychiatric sendoff to what extent is truth operative in security discussions, or is it actually disallowed, Top Secret, off-limits for this everyday, even when and while in a state of hostile and ongoing war, its non-documentation in these terms, its great covert power illegality given a freehand to exploit chessboard dimensionality truth and security go together. lies and falsehoods, security exploits, institutionalizing insecurity. > It is not clear if Snowden knows this or has been deluded > by the blinding conceit of cyber war and as a consequence > does not know what comsec delusion he is sincerely > promulgating to the great pleasure of those who know > exactly how to help him succeed by protesting vigorously. > > Back to why Merkel, Obama and other leaders are dancing > in a global delusion of what they do not know, pretending > outrage so superficial it suggests they really can't believe > they are stooges. As do we. (note: previous post uses term 'solid' as a juggling term, where a pattern is so well practiced it is error-free and can be juggled with mastery. dual-use, foundationally) F1 B5 F7 D5 C4 C6

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US Says Phone Spy Data Came from EU Spies, May Anger EU Citizens at Their Spies Role
by John Young 30 Oct '13

30 Oct '13

US Says Phone Spy Data Came from EU Spies, May Anger EU Citizens at Their Spies Role: <http://t.co/DHCwqqqdav>http://cryptome.org/2013/10/nsa-us-france-spain.htm NY Times editorializes today that "everybody spies like us" is a circle jerk.

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Re: [Cryptography] /dev/random is not robust
by Alex Elsayed 30 Oct '13

30 Oct '13

Theodore Ts'o <tytso <at> mit.edu> writes: <snip> > I'll tell you right away that both Fortuna and > Yarrow, which use crypto hashing in the entropy mixing step, is > going to be a non-starter from a performance point of view. <snip> One thing I wonder is if entropy collection could be separated from pool mixing - if entropy collection went to a ringbuffer or some other fast data structure; on excess entropy we could potentially let it drop some or xor new samples over the old that would be 'dropped'. Due to the round-robin nature of Fortuna's pool mixing, it could be parallelized, possibly allowing high-throughput implementations of mixing and low-latency implementations of submission. That could also help prevent dropped entropy. _______________________________________________ The cryptography mailing list cryptography(a)metzdowd.com http://www.metzdowd.com/mailman/listinfo/cryptography

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[cryptome] Does Swiss Crypto AG belong to the NSA?
by High Crypto 29 Oct '13

29 Oct '13

This is an article in english from the leading Swiss Economic Magazine BILANZ about Swiss Crypto AG. Original link to the BILANZ article is embedded in the pdf... http://www.bilanz.ch/unternehmen/spionage-unheimlich-kooperativ Rgs, Peter Barns

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Love and Math Reviewed by NY Times
by John Young 29 Oct '13

29 Oct '13

Love and Math, by Edward Frenkel, is reviewed in tomorrow's NY Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/books/review/love-and-math-by-edward-fren… Excerpt: "Frenkel believes math deserves to be an integral part of our culture. Why is everyone talking about planets, atoms and DNA and not symmetry groups? For one thing, you cant get cancer from a mutation of a symmetry group. But Frenkel writes that math 'directs the flow of the universe.' Its as elegant as music and as much a part of our intellectual heritage as literature. He strives to awaken our wonder by taking us on an equation-packed tour of his research, in which he reveals a hidden world few of us encountered in school." Returning to Whit Diffie musing on what led to his discovery or invention of public key cryptography -- found in what might be termed a hidden world of mathematics -- there may be still hidden mathematical forms of communication that does not rely upon technology's inevitable comsec failure. The NSA global invasion appears almost wholly based on the failure of technology rather than mathematics, as our esteemed cryptographers remind. Much of the current tweaking and further invention appear driven by technology, code, engineering, politics, law and polemics, again not mathematics. No wonder, that, for math is beyond grasp of those who believe the non-mathematical is too hard to see, hear, smell, touch, write, understand, market and melodramatically induce media delirium by way of officially-hostile and unauthorized disclosures. Whither the NSA bountiful mathematicians in protecting its family jewels of invasive technology? Stuck in crypto labs musing like Diffies in manifold hideways? Frenkel's linking of love and mathematics is worth pondering in the face of the megalomania, demogoguery, popularity and profitability of faultly technology, ever breeding abuse, counter abuse, blame and exculpation, feeding the market for official joined to unofficial invasion and combat, collateral damage inevitable.

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Excessive Politeness (was: Another Snowden News Story)
by Steve Furlong 29 Oct '13

29 Oct '13

On Mon, Oct 28, 2013 at 7:28 PM, coderman <coderman(a)gmail.com> wrote: > (who is a jerk for speaking ill of Jacob, i do admit!) > Without getting to the personalities or facts of this case, concerning which I know nothing, I object to this statement at bottom of coderman's message. If people are dumbasses or liars and you don't call them on it, they'll not only continue to be dumbasses or liars (which is their own business) but they'll continue to inflict themselves on other people. These innocent bystanders might not have any warning about the nature of the dumbass or liar and might thereby be harmed by them. As a fine, upstanding member of civil society, it is your *duty* to publicly call dumbasses dumbasses and liars liars. It's for the benefit of us all. Thank you in advance. Or, you know, just kill them all. As per my tagline. -- Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet. -- Arnaud-Amaury, 1209

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Re: [cryptome] After Der Spiegel " revealed that the roof of the embassy in Berlin
by John Young 29 Oct '13

29 Oct '13

Yes, there is finally coverage of the physical architecture of spying not just the "digital-architecture" of slides, texts and hyperbole. Duncan Campbell has reported on this physical architecture of hardware and facilities for decades and has advised several of the journalists covering the NSA releases who lack his experience and technical knowledge. Jacob Appelbaum confirms, others have not yet done so, and may be incapable of admitting limited knowledge after building careers of knowledgeability, yes, this is about cryptology and anonymity. PKC and anonymizers have become a celebrity drugs. Moreover, the valorization of comsec coding over the physical architecture has misled both the coders and their public about the weaknesses of comsec, a gaping hole through which national spies have driven large trucks to gather and transport mountains of data while the cyber-guards gaze at online security programs, engoring large fees for 24x7 protection, search and destroy, Stuxnet, virii, hacks, 0-days, terrifying kaboodle. Keep in mind this which has received almost no attention now or in the past: What is online and on the roof of embassies is not the source of most spying, that is a ruse. Every building has a unique identification (UID) based on its comprehensive materiality of building materials, mechanical and electrical systems, shape, spaces, usage, population, devices used by inhabitants (coming and going and resting), rate of deterioration, repairs, renovations. This in addition to official records in a slew of regulating agencies, contracts for services, networks, bugs, taps, implants, human spies, automation, fautly security systems. In effect, every building is a transceiver of its metadata and its contents without need for the ruse of local penetration. Just an ocean-going vessel, aircraft or satellite. Virtually nothing is being done to prevent this self-disclosing transceiving. Tempest protection is insignificant, and SCIFs are ridiculous. It is not clear if Snowden knows this or has been deluded by the blinding conceit of cyber war and as a consequence does not know what comsec delusion he is sincerely promulgating to the great pleasure of those who know exactly how to help him succeed by protesting vigorously. Back to why Merkel, Obama and other leaders are dancing in a global delusion of what they do not know, pretending outrage so superficial it suggests they really can't believe they are stooges. As do we. At 09:05 AM 10/29/2013, you wrote: >After Der Spiegel " revealed that the roof of >the embassy in Berlin placed blocks suspicious , >it turns out that these additions are also >installed in other cities . Evaluation of >equipment is listening to the American National Security Agency >Amir Rappaport | 29/10/2013 8:38 >What's behind the " boxes " uniformity mirror >placed on the roofs of the U.S. embassies in >major cities around the world and building >additions seem " natural ." It seems to be >hiding the most sophisticated listening facilities . > >Researcher Ronen Solomon discovered the testing >facilities identical pictures of the roofs of >the U.S. embassies in Beijing , Dubai, Berlin , >Moscow , Madrid and Tel Aviv. , After >comprehensive research published in the German >weekly " Der Spiegel " , following revelations >about the eavesdropping carried out by the >Americans to the top German leadership . >according to " citrus Spiegel " , on the roof of >the embassy in Berlin built blocks that appear >as part of the structure , but in fact it is >made ââof the facilities 'soft' gray or >white. material that does not block the >absorption from the listening facilities are behind him. > >U.S. listening devices '' on the roofs of embassies in the world > >After the discovery Der Spiegel " revealed for >the first time , based on the findings of >Solomon , that identical facilities on the roofs >of embassies are many other cities , including >Tel Aviv. In all cases it seemed as if it were >part of the building , but we notice that >H"kobiot " are , in fact, building additions . >If the findings of the " Citrus Spiegel " right >, the savers of listening to the American >intelligence agency scattered throughout the world. > >Tel Aviv is no exception : in addition L"kobiot >" is also found on the roof of the U.S. embassy >in Tel Aviv , like other major cities , Tel Aviv >there are other antennas that are hidden , >probably because it's not an intelligence listening equipment . > >Israeli security officials say they are not >surprised by exposing eavesdropping in Germany >and that they are aware of the American >listening mechanism being not only from the >roofs of embassies , but also through satellite >listening equipment and other means . The >assumption in Israel is the U.S. listening to >all the conversations that take place in the >Middle East as well as Europe , especially if they are not encrypted . > >U.S. wiretapping saga continues world countries >, and today the U.S. ambassador was invited to >Spain to talk with accusations that the U.S. had >listened to more than 60 million phone calls to >Spain during the month. Ambassador called to >talk to the Spanish Minister for European >Affairs , Inigo Mendez de Vigo , and the meeting >between the two lasted 40 minutes . Madrid at >the end of the conversation released a message >saying : " Spain to the United States emphasized >the importance of maintaining a climate of >confidence in bilateral relations , and the >importance of awareness extent of the actions , >if it turns out that they actually took place , >are unacceptable between countries that partnership and friendship ." > >As in the case of Germany and France , published >information originally one of the local >newspapers , " El Mundo " , and its origin is a >document provided to the leak , a U.S. National >Security Agency , former Edward Snowden . ><http://rotter.net/forum/scoops1/57437.shtml>http://rotter.net/forum/scoops1/57437.shtml > >Source: ><http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/517/655.html?hp=1&cat=666&loc=1>http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/517/655.html?hp=1&cat=666&loc=1 > >-- >Â >Haim Barak >To Serve and Protect Our Community >In God We Trust >Israel#: 5353... >Email: <mailto:haim357@gmail.com>haim357(a)gmail.com >http://haim357.wordpress.com/ >Â ><http://haim357.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/banner.jpg> >This e-mail is intended only for the named recipient(s) and may contain >information that is privileged, confidential and/or exempt from >disclosure under applicable law. No waiver of privilege, confidence or >otherwise is intended by virtue of communication via the Internet. Any >unauthorized use, dissemination or copying is strictly prohibited. >Thank you.

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Cameron doesn't understand everybody's been playing nice so far
by Eugen Leitl 29 Oct '13

29 Oct '13

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/28/david-cameron-nsa-threat-newsp… David Cameron makes veiled threat to media over NSA and GCHQ leaks Prime minister alludes to courts and D notices and singles out the Guardian over coverage of Edward Snowden saga Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent The Guardian, Monday 28 October 2013 18.10 GMT Cameron tours the Mini car plant in Oxford. The prime minister claims he doesn't want to have to take legal action against the Guardian and other newspapers over intelligence leaks but would rather talk to them. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA David Cameron has called on the Guardian and other newspapers to show "social responsibility" in the reporting of the leaked NSA files to avoid high court injunctions or the use of D notices to prevent the publication of information that could damage national security. In a statement to MPs on Monday about last week's European summit in Brussels, where he warned of the dangers of a "lah-di-dah, airy-fairy view" about the dangers of leaks, the prime minister said his preference was to talk to newspapers rather than resort to the courts. But he said it would be difficult to avoid acting if newspapers declined to heed government advice. The prime minister issued the warning after the Tory MP Julian Smith quoted a report in Monday's edition of the Sun that said Britain's intelligence agencies believed details from the NSA files leaked by the US whistleblower Edward Snowden had hampered their work. The Sun quoted a "top surveillance source" as saying that terrorists had "gone quiet" after the publication of details about NSA and GCHQ operations. Cameron told MPs: "We have a free press, it's very important the press feels it is not pre-censored from what it writes and all the rest of it. "The approach we have taken is to try to talk to the press and explain how damaging some of these things can be and that is why the Guardian did actually destroy some of the information and disks that they have. But they've now gone on and printed further material which is damaging. "I don't want to have to use injunctions or D notices or the other tougher measures. I think it's much better to appeal to newspapers' sense of social responsibility. But if they don't demonstrate some social responsibility it would be very difficult for government to stand back and not to act." The Guardian agreed to allow officials from GCHQ to oversee the destruction of hard drives in July, after the government threatened to use an injunction to block publication of information from the NSA files. Alan Rusbridger, the editor-in-chief of the Guardian, said the destruction of the hard drives allowed the Guardian to continue reporting on the NSA files from its New York office. The D-notice system is a voluntary code between government departments with responsibility for national security and the media. A notice can be issued to the media to prevent "inadvertent public disclosure of information that would compromise UK military and intelligence operations and methods". Cameron had earlier indicated that the oversight of Britain's intelligence agencies may have to evolve in light of the revelations about the reach of new technology. He told MPs: "We have parliamentary scrutiny of our intelligence agencies through the intelligence and security committee and we have strengthened that oversight. "Our agencies operate under the law and their work is overseen by intelligence commissioners. Of course as technology develops and as the threats we face evolve so we need to make sure that the scrutiny and the frameworks in place remain strong and effective." Parliament's intelligence and security committee announced earlier this month that it is to scutinise the extent of mass surveillance in response to the concerns raised by the Snowden leaks. The prime minister issued his warning to newspapers after Ed Miliband raised concerns about the reports last week that the US has monitored the mobile phone of the German chancellor Angela Merkel. Miliband said: "I join the prime minister in his support for the work of our intelligence services. It is vital, it keeps us safe and, by its very nature, it goes unrecognised. I join the prime minister in applauding the men and women who work for our intelligence agencies. "We can all understand the deep concerns that recent reports have caused in some European countries, especially Germany. As well as providing that support for intelligence services it is right that every country ensures proper oversight of those activities." Julian Smith, who recently wrote to the Metropolitan police to assess whether the Guardian has broken the law in publishing details from the NSA files, asked the PM in the Commons: "Following the Sun's revelations this morning about the impact of the Snowden leaks, is it not time that any newspaper that may have crossed the line on national security comes forward and voluntarily works with the government to mitigate further risks to our citizens?"

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