Blinky Rides Again: RCMP suspect al-Qaida messages

[J.A. Terranson]

On Fri, 10 Dec 2004, Trei, Peter wrote:

> J.A. Terranson wrote:
> > (4) I have yet to meet a full dozen people who share my
> > belief that while stego *may* be in use, if it is, that
> > use is for one way messages of semaphore-class messages
> > only.  I really do not understand why this view
> > is poopoo'd by all sides, so I must be pretty dense?
>
> For semaphores and codewords, stego isn't needed. Simply
> agree on a signal - if a post appears in
> alt.anonymous.messages with the subject "To JAT", the
> intended recipient has got all the info he needs.

Assuming you are willing to use your semaphores over overt channels.
Rudimentary stego is useful when you want those same low-bandwidth
messages delivered covertly.


> Stego is needed only when the message is too complex
> to have a codeword.

Yet at the same time, stego is such a low bandwidth medium as to argue
strongly against it's use for truly complex messaging systems.


> Even without software, 'numbers station' type
> transmissions can be sent anonymously through the net.

We're not necessarily talking about an IP transport for these messages.
My belief is that any unicast IP transport is inherently dangerous for
critical *must-be-truly-anonymous* messaging.  To put it another way, I
would not (if I was AlQ, which I'm not.  At least not this week...) use
the internet for critical messaging.  Just like I wouldn't use a satellite
phone ;-)

-- 
Yours,

J.A. Terranson
sysadmin at mfn.org
0xBD4A95BF

 Civilization is in a tailspin - everything is backwards, everything is
upside down- doctors destroy health, psychiatrists destroy minds, lawyers
destroy justice, the major media destroy information, governments destroy
freedom and religions destroy spirituality - yet it is claimed to be
healthy, just, informed, free and spiritual. We live in a social system
whose community, wealth, love and life is derived from alienation,
poverty, self-hate and medical murder - yet we tell ourselves that it is
biologically and ecologically sustainable.

The Bush plan to screen whole US population for mental illness clearly
indicates that mental illness starts at the top.

Rev Dr Michael Ellner