Somebody needs to shine the Flashlight of Reason into the Dark Corner of Stupidity don't you think?
How can this possibly be enforced? I have books, and files on my computer, describing most common encryption and public key methods. I could almost write an RSA encryption program from memory, and I certainly could write a program to XOR with a LFSR or a one-time pad.
The dumbed down articles always talk about how "complex" and "sophisticated" encryption is, but it's not really that complex, once you know the formulas. Anyone with high-school math could probably understand many of the algorithms. You could explain a one-time pad in terms of adding and subtracting.
And what is a legal definition of encryption anyway? If I XOR all my files with a constant byte, or if my ISP or the FBI happens to be looking and they don't recognize the file format and somebody calls the cops, how the hell am I going to explain how it's not encryption? Or will it be like the DMCA, and encryption will be anything they feel like.
And are they going to somehow take away my SSH that I use almost every day to do work as a sysadmin? I get paid to secure systems, should I tell my clients "This encryption is difficult to crack. Except for the government and anyone else who figures out the back door. Sorry."
After these laws are in place, and the fight against terrorism is successful (let's assume), what's to stop them from being used for other crimes?
We can use it to fight pedophelia. How about monitoring for words that suggest the writer likes young boys and girls, and searching his home, looking for kiddie porn. Maybe he made a joke, maybe he just has a desire for kiddie porn but would never think of downloading any and breaking the law, maybe he was writing an article on pedophelia. Better check him out, just in case. Maybe since it costs us so much money to check these guys out, we better make sure we make a few arrests, right?
Drug use: careful, if you tell your friends you're going to smoke a few bowls tonight after the show, you might find the police at your door. What's that? You don't smoke pot and never will, just trying to be cool? Son, you've wasted our time tonight. We better put you in jail for the evening anyway..for this bag of pot we happened to find in this drawer. Yeah, we have no idea how it got there either..now come along.
How about the RIAA/MPAA asking to monitor for illegal copying? It's illegal right? So how could anyone argue against it? Just check filenames and URLs going by and if they match up with a copyrighted work, shut down the ISP account. Since there are SO MANY of these infringements every day, we can't possibly verify each one by hand, so maybe a few innocent people get shut down, so what? You'll have a chance to show that copy of Oops, I did it again was actually not by Britney Spears (but thanks for pointing out that trademark violation).
Another different example.. speeding is illegal. So why not just wire up the speedometer so that when the speed limit is exceeded for 10 seconds or more, you get a small fine. I mean, speeding is against the law so there's no argument here. Sure, you might be passing that big truck and have to gun it for a while, but you'll have your day in court, the surveillence video will show your innocence. Unless of course someone abuses their power, but that never happens in government right?
So my fear is not so much when we're fighting terrorists, it's when we're at peace again and the power these laws may grant gets abused. Power corrupts.
Of course this is all a little extreme but we have to be vigilant because corruption comes little by little, piece by piece...
Well, this article is pretty useless since we've all seen it before. Therefore I officially announce that I'm taking over this article and comments, in the name of the USA, and turning into a place to post your favorite guacamole recipes. So here's mine:
3ripe avocados
juice of 2 limes
1-2teaspoonssalt
1/8 tspground cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
2tablespoonschopped fresh cilantro
1tspminced garlic
Mash the avocados, with a fork or blender (I like it ultra smooth). Add the other ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate several hours for best flavor. Yum!
All these new fangled toys.. kids have it nice today. When I was young, I had to build my own computer out of a pile of sand and some scrap metal!
Anyway it's always nice to see toys whose instructions don't consist of "Attach the Cockpit module to the Wing module. Your new F-16 model is now complete! Enjoy!".
Another good question would be, what if you regularly send random data along your pipes, that looks encrypted but isn't anything in particular. How could they tell it was crypto and not just random junk?
I noticed that this morning on my various IDS's and was going to post on OT message in another story to see if it was affecting many people.
I get them from inside the local net.
I can't believe this stupid Code Red crap is still going on. I've gotten used to the constant hits. And now am I going to have to get used to this junk?? Argh! I'm just firewalling them off as they hit.
Please let your elected representatives, and your unelected president, know that you don't want your civil liberties to become the terrorists' next victim.
*chuckle* I'll have to remember that, it's quite amusing.
And COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE in this context.
I didn't vote for Bush, but I recognize him as my elected president, especially now.
A good percentage of the American people surveyed said they will be patient until the right people are found.
Thank goodness, I say. I was quite surprised.
The last thing we need is American forces going in there, killing people out of rage or revenge. There are a lot of diplomatic things to do as well.
America needs to come out of this showing that it knows what to do, that it can do the right things, and that it can rise above the mentality of terrorists.
Dear G.W. Bush: please take your time and think everything through. I know you're not to skilled about these things, but the people around you are so listen well.
As for the union stuff, I thought they were turning away unskilled workers because that pile of rubble is also a crime scene and needs to be handled more delicately.
Circumstances that don't require court orders include an "immediate threat to the national security interests of the United States, (an) immediate threat to public health or safety or an attack on the integrity or availability of a protected computer."
I wonder if "an attack on the integrity of a protected computer" could conceivably include technological access controls on a copyrighted work?
I have read that bin Ladin and others use encrypted radio/satellite phones. Like those little portable things the military uses. I've also read he's used some stego on the internet to communicate long distances (like maybe to his associates here in America).
Anybody know exactly how these terrorists use encryption and the internet?
"Freedom is easier to protect, when there is less of it."
But really, I'm going to wait and see what happens before I condemn Congress for this.
For one thing, it seems the interference with civil liberties is well known even to the nightly news anchors, so it's not just a few of us geeks vs. everybody else. A lot of people are wise about these things and they'll get the message across.
Though if you want to mail your congressperson a letter, be sure to include a small paragraph or two describing basic RSA encryption, to demonstrate how simple it is to implement and how the algorithm could be easily memorized by anyone with advanced math skills.
Usually when something big happens, I instantly turn to the net and usually slashdot for the news links and especially for the reader comments, which usually give the best picture of whatever happened. I'm glad you guys were able to stay up.
I must admit though, the TV coverage, especially MSNBC, was excellent during the first day. Usually I avoid it.
After a while though, the ratings grabbing kicked in and they added the graphics and the special music and the "let's get them to cry on camera" bits and I remembered why I don't usually watch TV news, and have come back to the 'net and slashdot.
Did you know, you can walk into almost any store and buy a knife WITHOUT ANY BACKGROUND CHECK? They should at least check the buyer for dark hair and skin, the signs of a terrorist.
And I understand that plans to make knives are available on the internet? It used to be, only a skilled craftsman could make one, now any punk in his mom's basement can craft a steel blade capable of hijacking an airplane and crashing it into a building!
One thing I noticed in one of the celebrating Palestine videos was a PEPSI MACHINE! Either they don't hate America all that much, having a Red White and Blue Pepsi machine in their building, or the media spliced in a little extra footage.
Of course, the footage that I care about is the one showing a few airplanes full of people running into a few buildings full of people.
Because if they were to do this, they would have to admit a number of things which would undermine the message they are trying to send,
The US Government doesn't have to "send a message". The American people, believe it or not, actually are angry all on their own because their lives have been disrupted, and they're tired of terrorism.
It really doesn't matter that the USA trained bin Laden, or who we've supported, or what we've done. None of that justifies the choice of targets, none of that justifies the WAY he chose to attack.
Actually, on at least one plane (the one that went into the Pentagon), the terrorists herded the people into the back of the plane and asked them to call their relatives and tell them they were going to die. That's what Barbara Olsen (I think that's her name) told her husband before the plane crashed with her on board.
...It was odd how cool and natural all of the reporters and anchors were. Everybody said they were shocked, but nobody seemed to be.
...President Bush, sticking to his cautious sing-song monotone, fled to various bunkers and seemed to shrink throughout the day.
Katz, this simply wasn't true. There were several news anchors and people around them full of real emotion, on the verge of tears. For instance Ashleigh Banfield on MSNBC (an incredible woman and anchor who should get a friggin' medal for her work), at the beginning of the terror she was almost crying and could barely speak.
And GW, bless his heart, was almost crying today too. For once, I felt like he was really my president.
There was a lot of reality on TV for once. Too much.
America will never be the same again. The attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon have proved that the greatest and only super power in the world is not invincible. No mater who is responsible for the attacks on America and not matter how viciously the Americans choose to retaliate, American foreign policy is what brought this all on. Perhaps this is the beginning of the decline of the great American Empire.
I really detest reading these editorials, where the author seems to be on the verge of celebration because innocent people have died in a country he doesn't like, or because now more people have experienced horror and death in the world than before.
Will this author be pleased when every man, woman, and child on this planet has felt terror and pain, rather than have the audacity to desire a free and happy life?
Innocent human lives do not go on opposite sides of a balance, with Americans or Israelis on one side, Palestinians on the other. Innocent human life knows no political boundaries. Innocent human lives are always just that: human lives. Or put another way, two wrongs don't make a right.
And I don't understand when people say this shows America is somehow weak. Don't they realize, we have several hundred millions of people, and 49 more states? The terrorists took two buildings, and several thousand innocent lives, and this will somehow topple America? Even without America, the world is full of people who will fight for the ideals of democracy and freedom and capitalism. We know it's not perfect, but there's nothing better.
We fought hard to get to the point where we don't have to experience death and suffering every day, and we will continue fighting for it, as any rational human being would do!
Well besides the fact that many posters don't consider the 8 months detention too little, we also don't think of those two "crimes" the same way. To me, the only similarity is that computers are involved.
Sklyarov was the victim of a misguided and unjust law. He didn't actually do anything to any company, the way MafiaBoy did.
A DoS attack is an actual disruption of business, I have no problem with fair justice for that. Writing a general-purpose program to decode files is different. We don't throw people in jail for writing "ping" which may be used as a DoS tool, and we shouldn't throw them in jail for writing a program that decodes computer files in the privacy of your own home!
Slashdot Mirror
Somebody needs to shine the Flashlight of Reason into the Dark Corner of Stupidity don't you think?
How can this possibly be enforced? I have books, and files on my computer, describing most common encryption and public key methods. I could almost write an RSA encryption program from memory, and I certainly could write a program to XOR with a LFSR or a one-time pad.
The dumbed down articles always talk about how "complex" and "sophisticated" encryption is, but it's not really that complex, once you know the formulas. Anyone with high-school math could probably understand many of the algorithms. You could explain a one-time pad in terms of adding and subtracting.
And what is a legal definition of encryption anyway? If I XOR all my files with a constant byte, or if my ISP or the FBI happens to be looking and they don't recognize the file format and somebody calls the cops, how the hell am I going to explain how it's not encryption? Or will it be like the DMCA, and encryption will be anything they feel like.
And are they going to somehow take away my SSH that I use almost every day to do work as a sysadmin? I get paid to secure systems, should I tell my clients "This encryption is difficult to crack. Except for the government and anyone else who figures out the back door. Sorry."
Totally crazy and impractical.
After these laws are in place, and the fight against terrorism is successful (let's assume), what's to stop them from being used for other crimes?
We can use it to fight pedophelia. How about monitoring for words that suggest the writer likes young boys and girls, and searching his home, looking for kiddie porn. Maybe he made a joke, maybe he just has a desire for kiddie porn but would never think of downloading any and breaking the law, maybe he was writing an article on pedophelia. Better check him out, just in case. Maybe since it costs us so much money to check these guys out, we better make sure we make a few arrests, right?
Drug use: careful, if you tell your friends you're going to smoke a few bowls tonight after the show, you might find the police at your door. What's that? You don't smoke pot and never will, just trying to be cool? Son, you've wasted our time tonight. We better put you in jail for the evening anyway..for this bag of pot we happened to find in this drawer. Yeah, we have no idea how it got there either..now come along.
How about the RIAA/MPAA asking to monitor for illegal copying? It's illegal right? So how could anyone argue against it? Just check filenames and URLs going by and if they match up with a copyrighted work, shut down the ISP account. Since there are SO MANY of these infringements every day, we can't possibly verify each one by hand, so maybe a few innocent people get shut down, so what? You'll have a chance to show that copy of Oops, I did it again was actually not by Britney Spears (but thanks for pointing out that trademark violation).
Another different example.. speeding is illegal. So why not just wire up the speedometer so that when the speed limit is exceeded for 10 seconds or more, you get a small fine. I mean, speeding is against the law so there's no argument here. Sure, you might be passing that big truck and have to gun it for a while, but you'll have your day in court, the surveillence video will show your innocence. Unless of course someone abuses their power, but that never happens in government right?
So my fear is not so much when we're fighting terrorists, it's when we're at peace again and the power these laws may grant gets abused. Power corrupts.
Of course this is all a little extreme but we have to be vigilant because corruption comes little by little, piece by piece...
Well, this article is pretty useless since we've all seen it before. Therefore I officially announce that I'm taking over this article and comments, in the name of the USA, and turning into a place to post your favorite guacamole recipes. So here's mine:
3ripe avocados
juice of 2 limes
1-2teaspoonssalt
1/8 tspground cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
2tablespoonschopped fresh cilantro
1tspminced garlic
Mash the avocados, with a fork or blender (I like it ultra smooth). Add the other ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate several hours for best flavor. Yum!
These technologies should be heavily regulated:
Each of these played a key role in the attack. Once these technologies are under control, America will be safe from terrorists. I guarantee it.
Signed, John Q. Stupid, United States Congress
I'm embarrased to say that's the first thing I thought of, and haven't even touched a Magic card in years.
No actually, come to think of it, I'm not embarassed, Magic is a cool game in many ways.
All these new fangled toys.. kids have it nice today. When I was young, I had to build my own computer out of a pile of sand and some scrap metal!
Anyway it's always nice to see toys whose instructions don't consist of "Attach the Cockpit module to the Wing module. Your new F-16 model is now complete! Enjoy!".
Another good question would be, what if you regularly send random data along your pipes, that looks encrypted but isn't anything in particular. How could they tell it was crypto and not just random junk?
I noticed that this morning on my various IDS's and was going to post on OT message in another story to see if it was affecting many people.
I get them from inside the local net.
I can't believe this stupid Code Red crap is still going on. I've gotten used to the constant hits. And now am I going to have to get used to this junk?? Argh! I'm just firewalling them off as they hit.
Please let your elected representatives, and your unelected president, know that you don't want your civil liberties to become the terrorists' next victim.
*chuckle* I'll have to remember that, it's quite amusing.
And COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE in this context.
I didn't vote for Bush, but I recognize him as my elected president, especially now.
Actually, his name is not displayable in a Roman character set!!
A good percentage of the American people surveyed said they will be patient until the right people are found.
Thank goodness, I say. I was quite surprised.
The last thing we need is American forces going in there, killing people out of rage or revenge. There are a lot of diplomatic things to do as well.
America needs to come out of this showing that it knows what to do, that it can do the right things, and that it can rise above the mentality of terrorists.
Dear G.W. Bush: please take your time and think everything through. I know you're not to skilled about these things, but the people around you are so listen well.
As for the union stuff, I thought they were turning away unskilled workers because that pile of rubble is also a crime scene and needs to be handled more delicately.
I can just imagine the FBI's sophisticated search techniques:
/bin/Laden
/usa
"Search for Arabic names or the word Allah and turn it over to us"
Oh well.
rm -rf
fsck -a
Circumstances that don't require court orders include an "immediate threat to the national security interests of the United States, (an) immediate threat to public health or safety or an attack on the integrity or availability of a protected computer."
I wonder if "an attack on the integrity of a protected computer" could conceivably include technological access controls on a copyrighted work?
I have read that bin Ladin and others use encrypted radio/satellite phones. Like those little portable things the military uses. I've also read he's used some stego on the internet to communicate long distances (like maybe to his associates here in America).
Anybody know exactly how these terrorists use encryption and the internet?
"Freedom is easier to protect, when there is less of it."
But really, I'm going to wait and see what happens before I condemn Congress for this.
For one thing, it seems the interference with civil liberties is well known even to the nightly news anchors, so it's not just a few of us geeks vs. everybody else. A lot of people are wise about these things and they'll get the message across.
Though if you want to mail your congressperson a letter, be sure to include a small paragraph or two describing basic RSA encryption, to demonstrate how simple it is to implement and how the algorithm could be easily memorized by anyone with advanced math skills.
Fookin bizarre.
Usually when something big happens, I instantly turn to the net and usually slashdot for the news links and especially for the reader comments, which usually give the best picture of whatever happened. I'm glad you guys were able to stay up.
I must admit though, the TV coverage, especially MSNBC, was excellent during the first day. Usually I avoid it.
After a while though, the ratings grabbing kicked in and they added the graphics and the special music and the "let's get them to cry on camera" bits and I remembered why I don't usually watch TV news, and have come back to the 'net and slashdot.
Anyway thanks Slashdot!
Did you know, you can walk into almost any store and buy a knife WITHOUT ANY BACKGROUND CHECK? They should at least check the buyer for dark hair and skin, the signs of a terrorist.
And I understand that plans to make knives are available on the internet? It used to be, only a skilled craftsman could make one, now any punk in his mom's basement can craft a steel blade capable of hijacking an airplane and crashing it into a building!
One thing I noticed in one of the celebrating Palestine videos was a PEPSI MACHINE! Either they don't hate America all that much, having a Red White and Blue Pepsi machine in their building, or the media spliced in a little extra footage.
Of course, the footage that I care about is the one showing a few airplanes full of people running into a few buildings full of people.
Because if they were to do this, they would have to admit a number of things which would undermine the message they are trying to send,
The US Government doesn't have to "send a message". The American people, believe it or not, actually are angry all on their own because their lives have been disrupted, and they're tired of terrorism.
It really doesn't matter that the USA trained bin Laden, or who we've supported, or what we've done. None of that justifies the choice of targets, none of that justifies the WAY he chose to attack.
Actually, on at least one plane (the one that went into the Pentagon), the terrorists herded the people into the back of the plane and asked them to call their relatives and tell them they were going to die. That's what Barbara Olsen (I think that's her name) told her husband before the plane crashed with her on board.
Katz, this simply wasn't true. There were several news anchors and people around them full of real emotion, on the verge of tears. For instance Ashleigh Banfield on MSNBC (an incredible woman and anchor who should get a friggin' medal for her work), at the beginning of the terror she was almost crying and could barely speak.
And GW, bless his heart, was almost crying today too. For once, I felt like he was really my president.
There was a lot of reality on TV for once. Too much.
America will never be the same again. The attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon have proved that the greatest and only super power in the world is not invincible. No mater who is responsible for the attacks on America and not matter how viciously the Americans choose to retaliate, American foreign policy is what brought this all on. Perhaps this is the beginning of the decline of the great American Empire.
I really detest reading these editorials, where the author seems to be on the verge of celebration because innocent people have died in a country he doesn't like, or because now more people have experienced horror and death in the world than before.
Will this author be pleased when every man, woman, and child on this planet has felt terror and pain, rather than have the audacity to desire a free and happy life?
Innocent human lives do not go on opposite sides of a balance, with Americans or Israelis on one side, Palestinians on the other. Innocent human life knows no political boundaries. Innocent human lives are always just that: human lives. Or put another way, two wrongs don't make a right.
And I don't understand when people say this shows America is somehow weak. Don't they realize, we have several hundred millions of people, and 49 more states? The terrorists took two buildings, and several thousand innocent lives, and this will somehow topple America? Even without America, the world is full of people who will fight for the ideals of democracy and freedom and capitalism. We know it's not perfect, but there's nothing better.
We fought hard to get to the point where we don't have to experience death and suffering every day, and we will continue fighting for it, as any rational human being would do!
Well besides the fact that many posters don't consider the 8 months detention too little, we also don't think of those two "crimes" the same way. To me, the only similarity is that computers are involved.
Sklyarov was the victim of a misguided and unjust law. He didn't actually do anything to any company, the way MafiaBoy did.
A DoS attack is an actual disruption of business, I have no problem with fair justice for that. Writing a general-purpose program to decode files is different. We don't throw people in jail for writing "ping" which may be used as a DoS tool, and we shouldn't throw them in jail for writing a program that decodes computer files in the privacy of your own home!