Let's meet at 7:45 in front of the Arthur Anderson school on the 11th
Actually, this is exactly the sort of obvious code-phrase that CARNIVORE is on the lookout for when it scans everyone's e-mail. And ECHELON is on the lookout for such phrases spoken aloud on the telephone.
So if you keep making suspicious remarks like that it won't be long before the black vans arrive in the dead of night to drag you away, and your neighbors pretend to hear nothing when you scream!
On the other hand, nobody even thinks of restricting the free use of, for example, cars.
A law will be passed making it illegal for non-Americans to rent or buy aircraft, so they can't be used as weapons in future. And I am awaiting the new regulations requiring a Federal License to own a Carpet Knife.
Look, we'd better wise up. All this heavy spate of legislatory excess WRT Cyber-crime and encryption, etc is NOT because of 11-SEP at all. The tradgedy has simply given then a gigantic bandwagon with which to roll over those opposed to their plans. They have always wanted to clamp an iron fist on the throat of eFreedom, and this is just the excuse they need.
There is no point in showing them that these efforts won't help against terrorism. They are not introducing them for use against terrorists. They are introducing them for use against US. "To protect the children", of course.
If you have a secure channel to transfer the one-time pad why bother with encryption in the first place?
Because you can exchange fat one-time pads when all the conspirators are crouched around a camel-dung fire one night. Then use the pad for secure communications over the weeks and months that follow.
That pad must to somehow be secured like a codebook or it is useless.
It is much more difficult to frisk every person on the street looking for a one-time pad than it is to CARNIVORE every e-mail on the backbone and peek through the backdoor.
One-time pads is a wonderful theoretical idea but one that is useless in most real world applications.
If secure communications are required and backdoors are a threat, the inconvenience will have to be tolerated.
So kiddies, whatcha gonna hack? Commercial site or photos of mangy dogs.
Hey! My dog does _not_ have mange!
Code Red and Nimda did not attempt to hack commercial sites. They relied on large numbers of (poorly |un-)secured servers managed by sleeping administrators. Judging by a sample of the attacks that came my way, I'd say 80% of the machines were running servers that the admin didn't even know about.
And given the growing number of machines now equipped with an unnecessary webserver, matters are set to get worse.
At least all the admins I was able to contact (with one exception) stated that they were now considering a UNIX-based solution for public webservers!
Think about this: if MS had taken code from Linux and used it, and then it was resolved, it would still be posted on Slashdot and people would be ready to beat down Bill G's door and crucify him.
Maybe we should bust down his door and crucify him anyway. I'm pretty sure that those pesky terrorists used his software products for communication, coordination and planning!
What we need to do is require all users of his software to re-register periodically, and give network and billing information on a regular basis; for the good of the children!
What strikes me about this tragic disaster is the way government is targeting technologies that are not connected with the crime, simply because the implication that they could be used is there, using the need to protect the people as a hollow justification to remove our rights.
The government is introducing all the repressive, limiting legislation they can. Not bcause of 11-SEP but because they want to. If 11-SEP had not occurred, they would have had to manufacture and excuse, or work it all in piece by piece, over a much longer timeframe.
Sad to say, but the attack was a godsend for them.
You could be asked to do the same in the US, I'm sure... unless they plead the 5th ammendment or something.
Well that's the point exactly. If "the authorities" think you have been up to no good, it is up to them to make a case against you. You are not required to assist them by helping them gather evidence. Nor are you forced to give testimony against yourself.
Suppose a terrorist (or other criminal) organization was planning to use the internet to communicate via e-mail. Suddenly, there is a backdoor in the latest e-mail encryption software. And for some reason they can't simply continue using the pre-backdoor earlier version.
What is to prevent them setting up a WebMail site on a web server somewhere? Only, make the site a "Secure Site" using HTTPS (SSL, is it?)
Or is there to be a backdoor in secure web documents too? Because it will blow eCommerce out of the water if there is. Just think of all those credit card transactions going to and from "Secure Sites" with a gaping backdoor in them!
They cannot force you to speak on the phone, or in a language they can understand, though.
Actually, in Britain, as I understand it, if they can't crack your code they can demand you translate it into clear-text for them, and it is a crime to refuse.
So if you speak in a language they can't understand, they can demand that you translate the recording or go to jail.
(I mean, how many people regularly visit URLs that are highly illegal?)
There is such a thing as an "Illegal URL"??? What, you mean like forbidden knowledge? Is that like, you know: "The Lambada? It is forbidden!" What is with these illegal URL's? Protected by the DMCA?
Speaking of the DMCA, is it not a crime to decode something that is protected/encrypted? Doesn't that apply to my e-mail too? Are the FBI above the law?
If it would save the lives of other innocent people, I would personally print out all of my communications and had them to the FBI.
And so would I. But it wouldn't help save lives or assist the FBI in any way. There is no useful information in my e-mails. (Useful to the FBI, anyway.)
And if I were engaged in some nefarious activities, I'd make damned sure to use an older version of my encryption program; one without an FBI backdoor. Or perhaps a copy of something written in another country -- one that is not bound by US law WRT backdoors.
So in the long run, this invasion of my privacy does not help the FBI, nor hinder the evil-doers. It just places the jack-boot of authority squarely on the neck of myself and other innocents.
I am not in favour. I am well aware that it will happen whether I like it or not, but I still don't like it.
They were attacking the federal government, and purhaps [sic] capitalism.
No.
They were attacking a free society; one whose generous liberties are at odds with their view of what is right. They were out to dammage or destroy a way of life that makes a mockery of their rigid, authoritarian views. And if, as a result of their actions, we curtail our own freedoms -- change our way of life, then their attack will have succeeded, their objective will have been attained.
There are people who abhor the idea that if you don't want to face east and put your butt in the air five times a day, you don't have to. That if you are female you can wear a pair of shorts and a halter-top in public. That you are not subject to the summary whim of uneducated clerics.
These people are horrified that others live this way, and that the Finger of Retribution does not strike down from the clouds above to wipe away the stain. They are horrified because the continued refusal of the divinity to take action casts their entire, restrictive, fundamentalist creed into question. So they have decided to be the agent of the divinity; to rain down fire from above, and to scourge the wrongdoers personally.
They are not attacking the people, the buildings, or the government of the day. Their attack is really targeted against the way of life; the basic freedoms that their own followers secretly covet; the truth that makes a mockery of the lies that they preach.
When I read about requiring travel-documents for inter-state movement, I feel concern. When I hear about demanding ID from anyone who boards a subway train, I feel dismay. When I see people suggesting we grant carte blanche to the FBI's "Carnivore" and similar programmes, I feel fear. Because if these things happen, then the fundamental freedoms that we enjoy will have been eroded. Then the attack will have succeeded. And the bastards will have won.
It is said on just about all the major news networks that there has been an intelligence breakdown. That the terrorists use sophisticated encryption measures and that our intelligence agencies are under-funded and don't have the ability to keep tabs on the terrorists. Question: would you be willing to trade your personal privacy for maybe some further measure of security from terrorists? Would you grant the people running Carnivore greater rights into your life in order to perhaps prevent more events like this?
Do you think you will have any choice at all?
After this, and given the attitude of the President, do you think there will be a nanoseconds hesitation when the FBI ask for the right to scan your (and mine, and everyones) hard disk twice a week?
I have a subscription to Slackware, so I buy each release. I've had it for so long now I forget what it costs -- it just arrives.
The last two pieces of MS software I bought were DOS 5.0 and W4WG 3.11 which was how long ago now? And as for paying for the OS on a pre-load... well the last computer I bought as a complete unit came with DOS 2.1 on it. Since then I've hand-built everything else myself.
Slashdot Mirror
So if you keep making suspicious remarks like that it won't be long before the black vans arrive in the dead of night to drag you away, and your neighbors pretend to hear nothing when you scream!
:)
(Sheesh! You'd think 11-SEP would have taught people this!)
Look, we'd better wise up. All this heavy spate of legislatory excess WRT Cyber-crime and encryption, etc is NOT because of 11-SEP at all. The tradgedy has simply given then a gigantic bandwagon with which to roll over those opposed to their plans. They have always wanted to clamp an iron fist on the throat of eFreedom, and this is just the excuse they need.
There is no point in showing them that these efforts won't help against terrorism. They are not introducing them for use against terrorists. They are introducing them for use against US. "To protect the children", of course.
dd if=/dev/urandom ibs=256 count=1 | uuencode binladen.msg
is a criminal act? 'uuencode' may not be strong crypto, but it's still crypto...
(Damn! I like that "Gestapo Key" notion!)
Will the ask him nicely? Or just threaten to arrest him if he doesn't?
If you "bin" the screensaver, they withhold your degree?
Code Red and Nimda did not attempt to hack commercial sites. They relied on large numbers of (poorly |un-)secured servers managed by sleeping administrators. Judging by a sample of the attacks that came my way, I'd say 80% of the machines were running servers that the admin didn't even know about.
And given the growing number of machines now equipped with an unnecessary webserver, matters are set to get worse.
At least all the admins I was able to contact (with one exception) stated that they were now considering a UNIX-based solution for public webservers!
What we need to do is require all users of his software to re-register periodically, and give network and billing information on a regular basis; for the good of the children!
Oh wait.....
I can't find the post that this is supposedly a reply to.
Sad to say, but the attack was a godsend for them.
Suppose a terrorist (or other criminal) organization was planning to use the internet to communicate via e-mail. Suddenly, there is a backdoor in the latest e-mail encryption software. And for some reason they can't simply continue using the pre-backdoor earlier version.
What is to prevent them setting up a WebMail site on a web server somewhere? Only, make the site a "Secure Site" using HTTPS (SSL, is it?)
Or is there to be a backdoor in secure web documents too? Because it will blow eCommerce out of the water if there is. Just think of all those credit card transactions going to and from "Secure Sites" with a gaping backdoor in them!
So if you speak in a language they can't understand, they can demand that you translate the recording or go to jail.
Speaking of the DMCA, is it not a crime to decode something that is protected/encrypted? Doesn't that apply to my e-mail too? Are the FBI above the law?
And so would I. But it wouldn't help save lives or assist the FBI in any way. There is no useful information in my e-mails. (Useful to the FBI, anyway.)
And if I were engaged in some nefarious activities, I'd make damned sure to use an older version of my encryption program; one without an FBI backdoor. Or perhaps a copy of something written in another country -- one that is not bound by US law WRT backdoors.
So in the long run, this invasion of my privacy does not help the FBI, nor hinder the evil-doers. It just places the jack-boot of authority squarely on the neck of myself and other innocents.
I am not in favour. I am well aware that it will happen whether I like it or not, but I still don't like it.
More likely that he only declared an 8-byte buffer, with no room for the '\0' string terminator.
Say it again!
;-)
Back on the eleventh I said that the WTC was not the real target.
But who am I? Not a set of initials, so...
No.
They were attacking a free society; one whose generous liberties are at odds with their view of what is right. They were out to dammage or destroy a way of life that makes a mockery of their rigid, authoritarian views. And if, as a result of their actions, we curtail our own freedoms -- change our way of life, then their attack will have succeeded, their objective will have been attained.
There are people who abhor the idea that if you don't want to face east and put your butt in the air five times a day, you don't have to. That if you are female you can wear a pair of shorts and a halter-top in public. That you are not subject to the summary whim of uneducated clerics.
These people are horrified that others live this way, and that the Finger of Retribution does not strike down from the clouds above to wipe away the stain. They are horrified because the continued refusal of the divinity to take action casts their entire, restrictive, fundamentalist creed into question. So they have decided to be the agent of the divinity; to rain down fire from above, and to scourge the wrongdoers personally.
They are not attacking the people, the buildings, or the government of the day. Their attack is really targeted against the way of life; the basic freedoms that their own followers secretly covet; the truth that makes a mockery of the lies that they preach.
When I read about requiring travel-documents for inter-state movement, I feel concern. When I hear about demanding ID from anyone who boards a subway train, I feel dismay. When I see people suggesting we grant carte blanche to the FBI's "Carnivore" and similar programmes, I feel fear. Because if these things happen, then the fundamental freedoms that we enjoy will have been eroded. Then the attack will have succeeded. And the bastards will have won.
Do you think you will have any choice at all?
After this, and given the attitude of the President, do you think there will be a nanoseconds hesitation when the FBI ask for the right to scan your (and mine, and everyones) hard disk twice a week?
I have a subscription to Slackware, so I buy each release. I've had it for so long now I forget what it costs -- it just arrives.
The last two pieces of MS software I bought were DOS 5.0 and W4WG 3.11 which was how long ago now? And as for paying for the OS on a pre-load... well the last computer I bought as a complete unit came with DOS 2.1 on it. Since then I've hand-built everything else myself.
....it's not going to be the same without Charlton Heston screaming "DAMN YOU!" at the end...
And without Roddy MacDowall dragging his knuckles on the ground...