(Brinworld) Smart roads could help homeland
From: unknown Reply to: no reply address Smart roads could help homeland BY Megan Lisagor Sept. 23, 2002 http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2002/0923/web-its-09-23-02.asp Intelligent transportation systems, originally conceived of as a way to reduce traffic congestion in major metropolitan areas, are now being considered for roles in homeland security. Such systems use a range of technologies, including cameras, telecommunications and sensors, to make commuting easier and safer. More than 384 public transit systems nationwide have implemented or are installing some of these devices. Warning - this message generated from an anonymous web form < http://www.reachus.at/sneakypete >, senders name and email address may not be valid or may be forged
Re: Challenge to David Wagner on TCPA
On Wed, 31 Jul 2002 16:10:26 +0100, you wrote: > > On Wednesday, July 31, 2002, at 04:51 am, James A. Donald wrote: > On 29 Jul 2002 at 15:35, AARG! Anonymous wrote: > both Palladium and TCPA deny that they are designed to restrict > what applications you run. The TPM FAQ at > http://www.trustedcomputing.org/docs/TPM_QA_071802.pdf reads > > > They deny that intent, but physically they have that capability. > > And all kitchen knives are murder weapons. TCPA and Palladium can be forced to restrict 90%+ of all applications at the whim of Bill Gates, or the United States government. Kitchen knives, on the other hand, are under non-uniform and widely-distributed, uncoordinated control. Even Bill Gates and the United States government acting in concert cannot make all knives become murder weapons, nor make all knives become non-murder weapons. ~~
Re: maximize best case, worst case, or average case? (TCPA)
Ryan Lackey writes: > I consider DRM systems (even the not-secure, not-mandated versions) > evil due to the high likelyhood they will be used as technical > building blocks upon which to deploy mandated, draconian DRM systems. > DRM systems inevitably slide toward being more mandated, and more draconian. > > DRM-capable TCPA-type systems are evil by the same argument, even if > not used for DRM. > > The primary reason they are evil is not the stated goal of DRM systems > (copy protection in various forms), but the ease with which they could > be used to eliminate cypherpunk applications. Do you really think that DRM systems could eliminate cypherpunk applications? Have you thought this through in detail? Please expand on it. How many kinds of software would have to be eliminated for this to be true? What constitute "cypherpunk applications"? In how many forms could they be written and distributed? What kind of world would be necessary for DRM systems to actually be in use for the purpose of eliminating cypherpunk applications?
Re: maximize best case, worst case, or average case? (TCPA
Ryan Lackey provides a detailed analysis, but he gets off to a bad start right at the beginning: > DRM systems embedded in general purpose computers, especially if > mandated, especially if implemented in the most secure practical > manner (running the system in system-high DRM mode and not allowing > raw hardware access to anything at any time on the platform, rather > than trying to allow concurrent open and closed operation a la CMW), > and in a closed manner for revenue protection purposes (only > rich people get to sign the code, or at least only the keys of rich > people are widely distributed by default, and anything else requires > special operations by the user), are evil. So DRM systems are evil? Why? What makes them evil? There is no justification offered for this claim! Are we all supposed to accept it as obvious? And note that when someone says X is true, especially when Y, they also mean that X is true even if not Y. Therefore, Ryan is claiming that DRM systems embedded in general purpose computers, even if not mandated, even if not implemented in the most secure manner, even if not in a closed manner, are evil. That is, even voluntary and not all that secure DRM systems are evil! How can any software which people adopt voluntarily be evil? If Alice releases music with DRM restrictions, and Bob runs DRM compliant software to play it, which of them is evil? Is it Alice, for releasing her music with restrictions? Is it just because she encoded them in a file format, or is it evil to release any creative product and ask people not to copy it freely? Or is Bob evil, for voluntarily choosing to run DRM compliant software in order to listen to Alice's music? Or perhaps the software developer is the evil one, for giving people more options and choices in the world? One other point must be mentioned while we wait for clarification: > What I'm genuinely in terror of is #5. I'd be fairly comfortable with > (1,2) from philsophical grounds (and actually, some of the uses in #2 > are things which interest me). 1,2,3 are probably tolerable even from > a wanting-widespread-piracy standpoint, and really, anything but #5 > (and to some extent, #4) is tolerable in terms of protecting computers > for anti-government use. Are we to read this as an endorsement of the "wanting-widespread-piracy standpoint"? Is the implicit assumption here that widespread piracy is GOOD??? Well, that would certainly explain why DRM is evil in Ryan's eyes. If so, in Ryan's ideal world, every creative artist has no choice but to do nothing, or release their works with permission that anyone can copy them for free. This is not just an unfortunate consequence of technological reality, in this view. It is an outcome to be desired and even fought for, to the extent that voluntary technologies which would give people other options must be opposed from the beginning. The only evil here is the viewpoint that people must not have choices, that they must be forced into a Communist from-each-according-to-his- ability system where creative people have no choice or control over the products of their minds. Surely a libertarian such as Ryan can see the horrific evil involved in taking away freedom and choice from creative people, and he will clarify his words above.
IWAR Threat Model
From: ye ol lurker Reply to: no reply address from our collegues at metatempo---neither villifying nor praising crypto/remailers etc.. in the operational world of information warfare. http://www.metatempo.com/IWARThreatModel.pdf Warning - this message generated from an anonymous web form < http://www.reachus.at/sneakypete >, senders name and email address may not be valid or may be forged
Linux on your PS2
cryptorelevence: a new platform running an inspectable OS http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20020130/tc/tech_sony_linux_dc_1.html Sony to Sell Linux Kits for Playstation 2 TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp (news - web sites). said on Wednesday it would start selling Linux (news - web sites) operating system kits for Linux programmers around the globe in coming months to allow Linux applications to run on its PlayStation 2 (news - web sites) game console. The consumer electronics giant said it would begin selling disks to install the Linux operating system (OS) on PlayStation 2 and tools to develop Linux applications. The kits will go on sale in Japan in May and in the United Sates and Europe in June. ``Many Linux fans have requested that they would like to execute applications not only on personal computers but also on PlayStation game consoles,'' a Sony spokeswoman said. The kits will cost $188.30 in Japan, $299 in the United States and $215 in Europe. Linux, which competes with Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Windows, is an open-source model and has become a popular master computer program. Sony aims to expand the role of PlayStation as a platform and allow more applications such as word-processing. Sony said the kits also included a internal hard disk drive with 40 gigabytes and USB keyboard and mouse. Sony shares closed down 2.2 percent at 5,790 yen on Wednesday, in line with the benchmark Nikkei (^N225 - news) which ended down 1.3 percent, breaking below the 10,000 yen level for the first time since October 10.
[Reformatted] CCOPS: Concerned Citizens Opposed to Police States
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Jei) writes: > CCOPS: Concerned Citizens Opposed to Police States > http://www.ccops.org/ > > Aaron Zelman - Executive Director > P.O. Box 270205 Hartford, WI 53027 > Phone (262) 670-9920 Fax (262) 670-9921 > > CCOPS On the Road Totalitarian Time: > > WARNING: Police States are known to be hazardous to your health! > > Assault on the Bill of Rights and Security CCOPS POLL: WHEN WILL > AMERICANS WAKE UP? > > Since September 11, the Bush administration, in the name of fighting > terrorism, has imposed dozens of police-state policies and proposed > many more. Among these liberty-killing policies: > > a.. Expanded surveillance over ordinary people > > b.. Domestic spying by the CIA > > c.. New definitions of terrorism so broad they could include > millions of political activists > > d.. The return of Know Your Customer (the anti-privacy regulation > Americans thought they had defeated more than a year ago) > > e.. Requirements that *every* business report customers who spend > a "suspicious" amount of cash > > f.. Detentions without charges > > g.. Military tribunals without the protection of the Bill of > Rights > > h.. Federal eavesdropping on conversations between prison and > lawyers > > i.. A serious proposal for a national ID system with a giant > database that, from its inception, would give anyone with > access information about your movements, income, purchases, and > investments > > In addition, the CDC has asked the states to adopt "emergency" health > care measures that would authorize government to do everything from > seize your property to subject you to forced vaccinations. > > Alleged "civil libertarian" Alan Dershowitz has called for issuance > of "torture warrants." As Senate hearings, Charles Schumer made the > first official demand that the FBI's (illegal) records on gun buyers > be used to track and identify a segment of the population. (This was > noted by former CNN anchorman, Reid Collins and ignored by the rest of > the media). > > And at recent Senate hearings, Attorney General John > Ashcroft proclaimed that ANYONE who warns that the > administration's actions threaten liberty is aiding terrorists > (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5982-2001Dec6. html). > (How long, we wonder, before people like us have our assets frozen or > end up in secret courts?) > > Yet the majority of Americans have so far accepted these blatant > threats to liberty without a peep of protest. > > CCOPS ASKS: How long do you think it will be before Americans wake up > and put a stop to this assault on the Bill of Rights and on their own > long-term security? > > A month 90 days A year Five years 10 years Never -- or they'll wake up > when it's too late to preserve even a scrap of freedom
Content protection plan targets wireless home networks
Valenti & other mafioso worried about wireless (consumer fair use) broadcasting http://eetimes.com/story/OEG20020111S0060 "Content protection plan targets wireless home networks"
Blueberry encryption for boston pigs?
We are interested in the 'encryption' used in these over-the-air queries... ... http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAUW7L9HWC.html Handhelds Join Handcuffs at Boston Airport in Fight Against Terrorism By Leslie MillerAssociated Press Writer Published: Jan 15, 2002 BOSTON (AP) - A pager-sized device that's more likely to be found in a Wall Street briefcase than on a state trooper's belt may take its place in the war against terrorism. Logan International Airport is the first in the nation to test the BlackBerry as an electronic gateway to state and federal criminal databases, giving law enforcement officers the kind of immediate information resource they've longed for, but lacked. The wireless devices, made by Waterloo, Ontario-based Research in Motion since 1999, are ubiquitous in the corporate world, particularly by businesspeople who spend a lot of time away from their desks and need to check e-mails or surf the World Wide Web. The BlackBerries being tested at Logan are packaged with software that lets officers send encrypted queries to state and federal databases over a wireless network and get responses in less than a minute. State trooper Barry Newell carries his BlackBerry on patrols around Logan. With the device, Newell can check whether a suspicious person is on the FBI's terrorist watch list - without using a radio, dispatcher, cruiser or computer. "The beauty of this system is you can do it yourself," Newell said. Logan officials are using the system as part of their effort to strengthen security after 10 terrorists boarded two passenger jets on Sept. 11 and crashed them into the World Trade Center. The BlackBerry patrols began two months ago after Aether Systems Inc., which makes the PocketBlue software, offered to let Logan try the $89-a-month devices for free. Aether said airports in three other major cities are considering similar tests, but declined to say where. At Logan, 10 troopers who'd been trained in counterterrorism were taught to scroll through the BlackBerry's menu and send simple queries to a distant computer about a suspect's criminal history. A "hit" automatically sends an alarm to other troopers carrying a BlackBerry. It's more efficient than a phone or radio query. "If you go and ask for a couple of registration checks through a dispatcher, they'll get a little upset because you're adding to the workload," said Gerald Burke, director of the New England Law Enforcement Management Institute. Newell said he's identified several stolen cars in Logan's parking using the device. Whether the BlackBerries could have helped prevent the terrorist attacks isn't clear because the watch list only came into being after Sept. 11, FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz said. "There was intelligence information out there," she said. "But the watch list as we know it, as of Sept. 11, that format did not exist." State Police Capt. Thomas Robbins, Logan's interim public safety director, thinks the BlackBerry-toting troopers may become a permanent fixture at the airport, which is trying everything from facial recognition systems to training ticket agents to recognize suspicious activity. Aether's PocketBlue software was launched in June and is now being used by law enforcement agencies in seven states, said David Grip, marketing director for the mobile government division of the company, which has headquarters in Owings Mills, Md. "Since Sept. 11, there's now a focus within airports and port authorities to use the product," he said, adding Logan is the first airport to try it. Law enforcement agencies are also using the software in Ohio, Florida, California, Minnesota and the District of Columbia, he said. There may be a market for the software, but, "there's a little bit of a feeding frenzy," said Tim Quillin, an analyst with Stephens Inc. in Little Rock, Ark. Federal transportation officials are open to the experiment. "We're interested and looking at anything that might improve transportation security," said Paul Takemoto, spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration.
