- cypherpunks-legacy@lists.ogf.org

Re: one time pads.
by George A. Gleason 20 Oct '92

20 Oct '92

Re use fo CD ROMs for OTPs. That would seem to be a variation on the old theme of the book cipher, which is *not* random and therefore *not* secure. Also, agreeing on key procedures over the *phone* in *clear voice* is kind of like sex without a condom. Not secure. Not safe. Potentially deadly. While we're on the subject of link encryption, the same response pertains to the suggestion made by someone from SJG here (whose name I ought to know but my memory for names has more holes than Bush's economic plan) about key distribution and transmission of cleartext over phone lines. It *doesn't matter* if it's encrypted at the BBS server, if it goes in clear over the phone. Keyword in context recognition is no problem when dealing with ASCII. Various agencies (you know who) have raised this to a fine art. The telephone line is precisely the link in the chain which is weakest and needs most to be protected. If the nasty-wasties break down your door and go for your hard drive, it's already too late. Like worrying about a condom after the fact. Now as a matter of record, it's been demonstrated that a processor emits electromagnetic radiation back over the phone lines as well as electrical power lines, which can be picked up at a distance. So consider for a moment that there is a BBS serving dissidents, who Big Brother wants to monitor. Seeing all the encrypted traffic, they install a device on the phone line and the AC to pick up what the mircoprocessor is doing. And they see it doing crypto, and they see the cleartext which is recovered, and get the keys, and the whole damn thing may as well be transparent. So for BBSs and such, I would argue that it's necessary to have electromechanical relays to isolate the computer from the phone lines when encrypting or decrypting; ideally isolate it from the AC as well (using an uninterruptable power supply, which will run the computer on batteries for some period of time, say 45 minutes). So you have a great big red toggle switch next to the computer, and for some period during the day when doing all the crypto processing, throw the switch to the Safe position to get it off the phones and AC lines. This might make BBS use a little less convenient (in that email becomes available the day after it was posted), but at least it's not literally leaking everyone's secrets into the airwaves. This general area is part of a larger topic called TEMPEST. Anyone else interested in pursuing this angle...? -gg

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Re: More private PGP...?
by George A. Gleason 20 Oct '92

20 Oct '92

Hal, I think those would be vry useful. Now of course, we don't want to advocate that radio users in the United States do anything like sending ciphertext over the airwaves, but we might want to develop something that we can ship to the Gusanos who want to take Cuba back for the Mafia, or maybe in a better vein, something that the Tien-an-men kids can use when overthrowing the Commies in China. Good ideas about message headers. Since the source code for PGP is widely available, it would seem a straightforward matter to alter the program to include the new features. What I'd really like also is a Mac version.... -gg

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one time pads.
by hkhenson＠cup.portal.com 20 Oct '92

20 Oct '92

I can suggest a way to "distribute" a one time pad, even though the people never meet. Just agree over the phone on which CD ROM to use, and some forumula for an offset into the CD ROM. You might want to throw away some of the data to make the bit stream less regular, but with 600 meg, who cares? Keith Henson

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Re: one time pads
by George A. Gleason 18 Oct '92

18 Oct '92

Sigh... well, I guess I can see if the people I know who are interested, would do it as a freebie... Funny thing is, when I first looked into crypto for dissident purposes, back in 1981 or so, I was interested in a PKS implementation, but someone else in my circle persuaded me that OTPs would be preferable in some cases. Now here we are with a PKS and I'm still making noises about OTPs. Guess the debate is closed for the moment... congratulations, y'all, for good arguements in a good tone. Now the well is about to close for the night, so I gotta scoot. Be back soon... -gg

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Intro & Keystone
by fnordbox!loydb＠cs.utexas.edu 17 Oct '92

17 Oct '92

First, as a newcomer, and introduction. My name is Loyd Blankenship. I am the Product Development Manager at Steve Jackson Games, and was the employee raided by the Secret Service that set off the formation of the EFF, our lawsuit against them, and much angst within the government. I also use the nome de' plume "The Mentor" when traversing the computer underground. On to stuff relevant to the list: A group of us here in Austin have spent a great deal of time discussing the advantages of RSA-encrypted e-mail. I'm putting a BBS back up later in the year, and would like to offer secure communications to my users. Since the threat of seizure is very real (the feds still have over $10,000 (1989 street price) of computer equipment of mine since I'm "still under investigation"), this needs to be implemented before the message is ever written to hard disk. To implement this, I'm currently trying to get PGP up on my Amiga, then write the necessary C & AREXX functions to link it in with my BBS's (DLG Pro) email function. The outgrowth of this was the Keystone project. We're going to attempt to get everyone in Austin cyberspace public-key capable, and get a master keyring that will be regularly distributed via a trusted system to other nodes in town. Ideally, you would be able to send RSA-encrypted email from any bbs on any of the local nets to any other bbs -- even if all you know is the destination address. We're going to do this by attempting to make the bbs PGP-friendly. All the user has to do is generate a key pair. The two potential weak links in this chain are line security and key validation. The first is almost insurmountable -- unless the user takes the time to d/l a complete copy of PGP and the Austin Keystone Keyring and encrypt the mail on their home system. But if not, then they have to live with the chance that someone is data-tapping. The second will rely on face-to-face identification -- this is why we're making this a local effort. It will probably be Christmas (when I have a 3-week vacation) before serious strides are made in this, but I'm interested in any comments people may have. Loyd p.s. What is this "game" you are talking about? *************************************************************************** * loydb(a)fnordbox.UUCP Once you pull the pin, * Loyd Blankenship * * GEnie: SJGAMES Mr. Grenade is no longer * PO Box 18957 * * Compu$erve: [73407,515] your friend! * Austin, TX 78760 * * cs.utexas.edu!dogface!fnordbox!loydb * 512/447-7866 * ***************************************************************************

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Re: one time pads
by George A. Gleason 17 Oct '92

17 Oct '92

Re. your point about security and burglary. An intruder could copy a one-time pad, but of course an intruder can also copy the private key to an RSA system as well. I'll admit that physical key control is easier with public key systems: one just keeps one's key disc in one's personal possession at all times, and keeps a couple of backup copies in the hands of close trusted friends or family who understand and will take equal precautions. One could also design physical storage media which are intrusion resistant in the sense of self-destructing if tampered with or fed the wrong password; these would work as well for OTP keys as for RSA keys. In some conceivable applications, physical security can be insured as a matter of the vital interests of the participants. Again, I'm by no means trying to suggest that OTPs be considered for particularly wide application. Rather, that OTPs and a range of other systems be designed, implemented, and made available so that potential users can make their own informed choices. -gg

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game items
by wixer!pacoid＠cs.utexas.edu 17 Oct '92

17 Oct '92

For that matter, vibrators are illegal now for sale in Texas. Most all sex toys have to be renamed as "personal enhancement devices" or sumsuch in retail outlets to avoid seizure. Also, drug testing decoy materials - like powdered fake urine - are illegal in TX.

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Re: Game items...
by Arthur Abraham 17 Oct '92

17 Oct '92

Abortion Pill's Potential Use on Tumors Adds to Debate Over U.S. Market Entree ---- By Ron Winslow Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal DD 10/12/92 SO WALL STREET JOURNAL (J), PAGE B8 LP LOS ANGELES -- Medical researchers are studying a potential new * use for the controversial French abortion pill RU-486: treatment of * benign brain tumors. A large-scale clinical trial was launched at the University of * Southern California last week to determine whether the drug effectively slows or halts growth of meningiomas, tumors that occur * on the surface of the brain and spinal cord. TX The answer won't be known for several years, but the study adds another dimension to the debate over whether the drug, known as mifepristone, should be allowed on the market in the U.S. Rousell-Uclaf, its manufacturer, hasn't sought marketing approval in the U.S. because of the heat of the political battle over abortion. The study raises the possibility that a drug that could benefit some patients won't become available because of a political dispute over another application. "There is a good chance there will be legitimate uses for this drug outside of contraception and abortion," said Steven Grunberg, an oncologist at the USC School of Medicine. "Whether U.S. regulatory officials feel this will be sufficient for licensing will be up to them." A study published last week found the drug to be effective as a contraceptive when taken shortly after sexual intercourse. It is already used in France, the United Kingdom and Sweden to induce abortions within the first nine weeks of pregancy. Meningiomas account for 15% to 18% of all tumors in the central nervous system, and while they are benign -- meaning that they don't spread to other parts of the body -- their growth can lead to such problems as seizures, blindness or paralysis. Most can be removed by * surgery, but some grow so close to crucial brain structures that surgery isn't possible. Dr. Grunberg told reporters at a science writers' conference sponsored by the American Medical Association that the large-scale * trial of RU-486 for the tumors comes after a small pilot study of 28 patients turned up encouraging, though not definitive results. In the small study, eight patients experienced improvement in * symptoms or had minor reduction in tumor size, according to brain scans. In a few other patients, growth of the tumor stabilized after treatment began. While not overwhelming evidence of effectiveness, the results were nevertheless sufficient to persuade the Food and Drug Administration to approve a large study that will involve 200 patients at several U.S. medical centers, and will be based at USC, Dr. Grunberg said. Results from the trial aren't expected for at least four years, and based on current medical practice, only a small number of people * would probably benefit from use of RU-486 in meningiomas. The study might have broader impact by drawing attention to other potential benefits of a drug that isn't available in the U.S. because its primary application is to induce abortion. Dr. Grunberg said the drug is also being studied as a treatment for breast cancer, endometriosis and a disorder called Cushing's disease, which is characterized by obesity and hypertension. Several other trials have been approved by the FDA, he added, though none has progressed as far as the meningioma study. * He said his research team came upon RU-486 as a candidate for treating meningiomas because the drug blocks the action of progesterone, a hormone that appears to promote growth of the tumors. "We didn't set out to make a political statement for * RU-486," he said. "It just appeared to fill the bill for what we're trying to do." ******************************************************************** snarf -a2.

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Re: Game items...
by Arthur Abraham 17 Oct '92

17 Oct '92

re RU-486: has recently been proven to make a nifty "morning-after" pill (is this abortion? only if you believe in the sanctity of blastula) and a study in (I believe) S. CA. is beginning on effectiveness in brain tumors... seems as if this drug has possible wide theropeutic (aw, who can spell?) uses beyond directly sex-lined situations. And RU-P5 is due out 2Q93. -a2.

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Re: re- Game items...
by Fen Labalme 16 Oct '92

16 Oct '92

Subject: RE>re: Game items... >> -- Safe sex in the age of AIDS. Guess what -- oral sex is safe. >> Cum in your mouth and stomach does not transmit HIV. Just don't have eaten chips or have flossed your teeth beforehand. HIV is transmitted semen to blood or blood to blood. >> -- Access to sexuality information of all or any kinds. Not all >> people do the ole missionary position. Erotica of all kinds. I can't resist plugging the San Francisco Sex Information hotline. Call 415/621-7300 with your questions of how to find it, do it better, find someone (animal? thing?) with which to do it with, etc.... They give good phone. Enjoy! Fen

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