Fwd: [gsc] Fwd: Save the date! Computers, Freedom, and Privacy: June 15-18, 2010

[R.A. Hettinga]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Rayservers support <support at rayservers.com>
> Date: September 27, 2009 12:08:55 PM GMT-04:00
> To: gold-silver-crypto at rayservers.com
> Subject: Re: [gsc] Fwd: Save the date!  Computers, Freedom, and  
> Privacy:  June 15-18, 2010
>
> On 09/27/09 13:45, Rayservers support wrote:
>> On 09/27/09 12:18, R.A. Hettinga wrote:
>>> On Sep 27, 2009, at 8:03 AM, pintle wrote:
>>>
>>>> Would another Internet make a difference? If so, what would it be  
>>>> like?
>>>> What would it take? How much more expensive would it be?
>>> The "Internet" is a network protocol.
>>
>> lol! :D
>>
>> To answer the first question, the corollary to what RAH said is  
>> "another
>> protocol". Just in case it was not obvious.
>>
>> If you want an analogy, here it is: First there was telnet, second  
>> there was
>> ssh. The rest is left to the imagination of some clever geeks.
>
> OK, lets get started. I hereby invite clever geeks and people who  
> can read
> English and use computers to chime in.
>
> The idea-domain-space of the bits that make what appears in front of  
> you is done
> by the following magic:
>
> A) Manipulating bits that are "persistent"
> B) Moving bits between boxes that can then choose to persist them
> C) Displaying the bits in human readable form
>
> Now, it is clear that the set of instructions "software" that does  
> it, it
> finally rich and complex enough to create this nice desktop with e- 
> mail, instant
> message, voice, document editor, web browser and accounting  
> software. With crypto.
>
> That about sums it up.
>
> Lets talk about the telnet to ssh revolution (plaintext to  
> ciphertext as normal
> for A&B)
>
> 1) telnet vs ssh: It finally became possible to say "fsck" remotely  
> without some
> government censor getting all upset.
>
> 2) http vs https: The SSL boys fucked it up for the web. Same thing  
> is achieved
> as with ssh, but I have to get "certified" at some SSL certificate  
> vendor*
> otherwise the idiots who programmed my browser will pop up all sorts  
> of annoying
> messages.
>
> * No offence to the certificate vendor who I know reads this list.  
> This rant is
> a summary of what Iang has articulated here: http://iang.org/ssl/
>
> 3) e-mail -> PGP email. Wonderful. Just a PITA exchanging keys. S/ 
> MIME was
> broken from the start by trying to marry SSL to e-mail.
>
> 4) IM -> OTR. PGP on steroids. Good stuff. Why is this not a  
> default? And why,
> when enabled it lets you blurt things out before it establishes a  
> session? Why
> not patch this in to Thunderbird?
>
> 5) RTP -> SRTP -> ZRTP. The government would like you to use SRTP.  
> Zimmerman has
> not been commercially successful with ZRTP. Why? [Rhetorical why.  
> Discuss].
> Twinklephone on Linux rocks, when it works.
>
> 6) blocks on disk -> loop-AES. Finally persisted data one can live  
> with. I pay
> for my hard drive, know my password and its mine.
>
> 7) blocks on disk -> distributed storage with distributed erasure  
> coding [see
> allmydata.org]. Nice. I do not pay for my storage, except, perhaps  
> at some meta
> level. This is a problem.
>
> 8) FTP -> Bitorrent. (move to distributed download): "Free" - a  
> problem.
>
> 9) HTTP -> TOR (move towards anonymity) "Free" - a problem.
> 10) E-Mail -> Mixminion (move towards anonymity) "Free" - a problem.
>
> Finally we visit
>
> C) Displaying the bits.
>
> 1) The hyper-link revolution and its effects
> (i) Makes persistent bits on a remote machine more useful than local  
> bits
> - causes the client-server model to flourish
> - low latency high performance remote bit display (X-Windows) loses  
> to Web browser
> - low latency high DPI printed bank statement loses to online banking
> - "server side" programming is chosen by anyone who wants to  
> centralize command
> and control. Easily regulated. See e-gold.
>
> (ii) Remote e-mail via web instinctively preferred
> - Communication history easily remembered via one password
> - *Feeling* of privacy, "no one can get my email off the computer"
>
> (iii) Made the OS less relevant
> - Recall the mad scramble on IE.
>
> +++++++
> Paying for all this
>
> 1) Cost of hardware
> 2) Cost of OS and software: free. Unless you are a rocket scientist.
> 3) Recurring Cost : INTERNET CONNECTION
>
> The next revolution will center around:
>
> 1) Its mine if I know the password to my encrypted bits
> 2) Its mine if I paid to store my encrypted bits somewhere.
> 3) I'll only pay for my bits. I won't pay for other people's bits.
> 4) I'll pay to move my bits. I won't pay to move other people's bits.
>
> Regarding costs - The recurring cost of the internet connection paid  
> to your ISP
> is what subsidises the "free" stuff. If I don't watch porn videos, I'm
> subsidising those who do.
>
> Result: Lower cost.
>
> The revolution in persistence will be
>
> 1) If there are enough computers on a UPS, I do not care so much  
> about a hard
> disk. This is a direct consequence of distributed erasure coded main  
> memory
> storage, bitorrent etc. Consequently
> - A CDROM only OS. Think: Knoppix + SSL web mail as a current  
> working example.
>
> Result: No incriminating data or even encrypted blobs
>
> The next revolution in crypto protocols will be:
>
> - Payment to move encrypted bits, Payment to store encrypted bits.
>  - Anonymity will become economically cheaper than "I'm to lazy and  
> have
> nothing to hide". [Chimneys... I hear a voice saying]
>  - It will mean CISCO will be obsolete unless they embrace and  
> adopt, in which
> case they will be an economic superpower.
>  - It will mean Microsoft will become obsolete unless they embrace  
> and adopt,
> in which case they will be an economic superpower.
>
> And finally: WHAT is your payment deliverable in?
>
> Lawful answers:
> Answer one: In peanuts, your Honour. :)
> Answer two: In GB of data stored, your Honour :)
> Answer three: In GB of data moved via my node, your Honour :)
>
> Will you trade GB of data stored for Peanuts? or BMWs? or Gas?
>
> *WHOSE liabilities are these, and WHAT will they deliver?*
>
> Cheers,
>
> ---Venkat.
>
> -- 
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