While this may be an insult to cypherpunks cryptoanarchical origins
it could be saluatory to occasionally set aside state perfidy to look
more closely at the private sector which reaps most rewards from
state obsequiousness toward industry, politicians and their backers
of wealth and the "non-profit" organizational tools of the wealthy, from
mendacious very smark and crafty individuals, particularly in comsec
and infosec and above all else, natsec and anti-natsec, out to work
all sides by getting in bed with all of them, serially and simultaneously.

Private sector spit swappers are as ubiquitous and deceptive as
privacy policies, anonymizers, backdoor coders, covert device
implanters and highly reputable hustlers of public interest, the
skilled and avid publicity seekers avowing protection of the populace
against exploitive gov-com-edu-org-religion hoodlums.

Under cover, over cover, these wily coyotes switch allegiances
like hipster clothing and manufacture bar-pickup promises: take back
the net, https everwhere, fight the spies, lengthy-key encryption and
shyster key sharing, anon-routers and deep black statelessness,
black white and gray products boundlessly offered free to siphon user
data then paid for dearly by black market buyers, then blame the foreign
hackers cover-up aided by AV predators press releasing APT
proofs of countermeasures marketability right here.

What with the profileration of trade schools for coding mastery
in a few weeks, there is quick money to pound the rat button for
more hack, privacy and comsec attacks, more calls for intervention
by everybody everywhere to Ebolaize cyber plagues beyond control.

Against profitably orchestrated terrorism and disease panic attacks
Cypherpunks said it then, avow it now:

http://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/manifesto.html

"Cypherpunks write code. We know that someone has to write
software to defend privacy, and since we can't get privacy unless
we all do, we're going to write it. We publish our code so that our
fellow Cypherpunks may practice and play with it. Our code is free
for all to use, worldwide. We don't much care if you don't approve
of the software we write. We know that software can't be destroyed
and that a widely dispersed system can't be shut down.

Cypherpunks deplore regulations on cryptography, for encryption
is fundamentally a private act. The act of encryption, in fact, removes
information from the public realm. Even laws against cryptography
reach only so far as a nation's border and the arm of its violence.
Cryptography will ineluctably spread over the whole globe, and with
it the anonymous transactions systems that it makes possible.

For privacy to be widespread it must be part of a social contract.
People must come and together deploy these systems for the
common good. Privacy only extends so far as the cooperation of
one's fellows in society. We the Cypherpunks seek your questions
and your concerns and hope we may engage you so that we do
not deceive ourselves. We will not, however, be moved out of
our course because some may disagree with our goals.

The Cypherpunks are actively engaged in making the networks
safer for privacy. Let us proceed together apace.

Onward.

Eric Hughes <hughes@soda.berkeley.edu>

9 March 1993"