yes, they look for stego, as a "Hacker Tool"

[Thomas Shaddack]

On Fri, 13 Aug 2004, Major Variola (ret) wrote:

> Even if you map a particular hash into one of a million known-benign
> values, which takes work, there are multiple orthagonal hash algorithms
> included on the NIST CD.  (Eg good luck finding values that collide in
> MD5 & SHA-1 & SHA-256 simultaneously!)

Argh. You misunderstood me. I don't want to find hash collisions, to 
create a false known hash - that is just too difficult. I want to make 
every file in the machine recognized as "unidentifiable".

> >> These hash-CDROMs are also useful for finding unlicensed software and
> >> music....
> >
> >Another reason for making your data unique.
> 
> In that case, yes, although ultimately the RIAA could hire offshore 
> Indians to listen to your stego'd/uniquified Madonna song and identify 
> it.  (Of course, they don't know if you own the vinyl for it... and 
> software can be sold by the original purchaser, too, right?)

The adversary has acoustic fingerprinting software. Even cheaper than 
the Indians.

The signature busting of MP3s has a disadvantage, though: makes their 
sharing back to the P2P pool more difficult, and a lot of programs relying 
on their hash (emule, Kazaa(?),...) instead of their file name will 
consider them a different file, which causes problems with multisource 
download (though the problem won't be on your side).

> Yes something like a Tomlinson (_Big Breach_) sleight of hand with a 
> Psion card is a good idea, as is the microwave oven trash can next to 
> your machine :-)

Or a small propane torch or a lighter (the kind that makes the hissing 
blue high-temperature flame), or even a sticker with magnesium shavings to 
burn through the chip when lit.

> >... and there still is a segment of consumers who think that
> >when it is free, it's worthless)
> 
> And a larger segment which will stick any CD they get in the mail into 
> their bootable drive.. LOL

Didn't realize this. Seems I still overestimate Them the People.

> Sorta like the National Forests... resource of many uses... may as well 
> include a mixmaster payload in that worm :-) which also provides some 
> other overt free benefit like antivirus or anti-helmetic or defrag or 
> game or bayesian spamfilter or chat or screensaver or anon remailing 
> client or free ringtone :-)

Free ringtones. Good attractant these days. I tend to forget about them as 
I tend to shun fancy tones - telephones should have a distinctive ring but 
"distinctive" does not have to mean "orchestral". But apparently there are 
large sets of people who like it. Weird...