-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Recently George Gleason and myself have exchanged email concerning the embedding of messages into broadcast medium. We discussed options that would confound the traffic analysis performed upon the host medium. We came up with a few ideas that may be interesting to the list. George pointed out what I pointed out earlier - sending the latest Michael Jackson tune over the net might raise eyebrows as well as copyright violations. Being from the 'grunge town' of Seattle, it was discussed that perhaps it would be possible to send a copy of some 'unknown' band over the net without harm. In fact, perhaps this is a good place to start: the underground music scene. gg - "This week on Music By Wire, a new song by the Subversives, recorded at Pretty Good Productions. . ." This distribution channel has advantages over DAT -- no delay and the possibility of a large audience if there was a steady flow of musical traffic. Next, discussion turned to the integration of modem carrier tones as samples in music (rap). If this new twist caught on, the artist could encode messages (in plaintext, or later ciphertext) into the song, including the key on the record insert. What does this do for us? By using ciphertext "... as an artistic product, ..[we] thereby gain another layer of 1st Amendment protection." Free speech. Lastly and perhaps most interesting: I suggested that by using one of these garage bands, we might be able to distribute our own messages on CD. By getting ahold of a local bands' master before they take it to get a record pressed, we could digitize it ourselves, encode our messages (the kama sutra, a message of goodwill, the songs' lyrics, whatever the band wants, too!) into the LSBs and then give it back to the band to press CDs (put the key on the front cover if you like). The band could be told that not only were they certain to sell ~100 CDs (@ $12-$14 each = $1,300 -- no small sum for a garage band) just to cypherpunk members, but they would also be "the first band in history to digitally encode messages into their music... etc." I don't think the ~100 CDs is an understatement, either. How many cypherpunks do we have nowadays? I would be willing to shell over $15 for a (basically) small-capacity encrypted CD ROM disk, even though I personally don't have a player. gg and myself are both rather interested in this last idea -- tweaking with a bands' CD before it gets pressed. Does it sound promising to anyone else? matt -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.2 iQCVAgUBK6oMPWSGfFo1zsA5AQEW0AQAqUNNUqdgNyyN2WPGSRx4RCy4umV985CL eHc6TnEsuVDO1InA8nsB4UVh96a3TG/jhSG3xVsGWYt/z5uJbTyqeHtkPWEiLz+j BgR5/mKmeAi0rvFDaIQS1JcoB9gBb3+EFnvOT4RpTtsw+pN5Fry+0PQpQi9zKXbZ pRCGtHKdiiE= =UvO3 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- Matt Thomlinson University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. Internet: phantom@u.washington.edu phone: (206) 528-5732 PGP 2.2 key available via email or finger phantom@hardy.u.washington.edu
The Phantom
Lastly and perhaps most interesting: I suggested that by using one of these garage bands, we might be able to distribute our own messages on CD. By getting ahold of a local bands' master before they take it to get a record pressed, we could digitize it ourselves, encode our messages (the kama sutra, a message of goodwill, the songs' lyrics, whatever the band wants, too!) into the LSBs and then give it back to the band to press CDs (put the key on the front cover if you like).
[...]
I would be willing to shell over $15 for a (basically) small-capacity encrypted CD ROM disk, even though I personally don't have a player.
A nice idea, but functionally impossible with today's technology. The firmware of CD-Rom players does not allow them to read the digital data of an audio CD and output it in digital, the output must be analog. The only exception to this that I know of is the SGI CD-rom. This restriction against digital output from audio CDs was put in after the music publishing industry made a big issue over pirating music, etc... I am not sure what mods have been done to the firmware of the SGI CD rom players, but the people on alt.cd-rom say it can read the digital data from audio-cds. Without this capacity you are not going to be able to stick the message in the CD as easily as you would be able to with a cd-rom player that could read digital... jim
Jim McCoy writes: > The firmware of CD-Rom players does not allow them to read the digital data of > an audio CD and output it in digital, the output must be analog. The only > exception to this that I know of is the SGI CD-rom. This drive is the Toshiba TXM3301. Although the firmware was specially commissioned by SGI I believe that the drive is available from Toshiba America directly.
George pointed out what I pointed out earlier - sending the latest Michael Jackson tune over the net might raise eyebrows as well as copyright violations. Being from the 'grunge town' of Seattle, it was
Besides, Michael Jackson sucks! ;^)
discussed that perhaps it would be possible to send a copy of some 'unknown' band over the net without harm. In fact, perhaps this is a good place to start: the underground music scene.
I assume you mean with their permission. Think of it, you tell a band that you want to distribute one of their demo's around the world. I think they'd buy it. And I don't think they'd care that you embedded a message in it, either. And a lot of cypherpunks like underground music. Works for all of us. I like this idea and think it could work.
gg - "This week on Music By Wire, a new song by the Subversives, recorded at Pretty Good Productions. . ."
I love it! Pretty Good Productions... That's the best. ;^)
Next, discussion turned to the integration of modem carrier tones as samples in music (rap). If this new twist caught on, the artist could encode messages (in plaintext, or later ciphertext) into the song,
I don't know, will a modem weed out all of the noise to get to the carrier tones that we embedded in the crap...er...I mean rap music. ;^)
including the key on the record insert. What does this do for us? By using ciphertext "... as an artistic product, ..[we] thereby gain another layer of 1st Amendment protection." Free speech.
Nice!
Lastly and perhaps most interesting: I suggested that by using one of these garage bands, we might be able to distribute our own messages on CD. By getting ahold of a local bands' master before they take it to get a record pressed, we could digitize it ourselves, encode our messages (the kama sutra, a message of goodwill, the songs' lyrics, whatever the band wants, too!) into the LSBs and then give it back to the band to press CDs (put the key on the front cover if you like).
I wonder if a PC will read the data that comprises a CD data-set. My consern is about directory structure etc.
The band could be told that not only were they certain to sell ~100 CDs (@ $12-$14 each = $1,300 -- no small sum for a garage band) just to cypherpunk members, but they would also be "the first band in history to digitally encode messages into their music... etc."
Kind of a new twist on backward subliminal messages, eh? ;^)
I don't think the ~100 CDs is an understatement, either. How many cypherpunks do we have nowadays? I would be willing to shell over $15 for a (basically) small-capacity encrypted CD ROM disk, even though I personally don't have a player.
We could distribute the needed source code on an underground basis. We could distribute whole software packages piggy-backing on a garage band's demo! Bitchen!
gg and myself are both rather interested in this last idea -- tweaking with a bands' CD before it gets pressed. Does it sound promising to anyone else?
Most definately! +----------------------+----------------------------------------------------+ | J. Michael Diehl ;-) | I thought I was wrong once. But, I was mistaken. | | +----------------------------------------------------+ | mdiehl@triton.unm.edu| "I'm just looking for the opportunity to be | | Thunder@forum | Politically Incorrect! | | (505) 299-2282 | <me> | +----------------------+----------------------------------------------------+
participants (4)
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J. Michael Diehl -
jg＠uruk.genmagic.com -
mccoy＠ccwf.cc.utexas.edu -
The Phantom