Crypto-Silliness

Clever. From their email list.

GMP cryptographic developments
Floria Lop flop at gmplib.org
Wed Apr 1 09:24:03 CEST 2009

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After a long internal discussion, and with some regret, the GMP team
is soliciting suggestions for a novel high-level cryptography function
layer, accommodating suitable back-doors for law enforcement agencies'
security work.

The plan is to add cryptography functions such as mpz_rsakeygen and
mpz_dsakeygen that implement the RSA and DSA algorithms, respectively,
with builtin key escrow.  By default, private keys will be transferred
securely to NSA for US users, and PRCIA for Chinese users, etc, but this
should of course be configurable.

Please treat the information in this letter as confidential to the
GMP project, so that it does not fall in the hands of terrorists.
If these new functions do not get used, this security project will
be less successful.  Remember, the governments are spying on us
for our own safety and security!

To stop terrorists from removing these features, the license of GMP
4.3 will be the new PGPL, the Patriot GNU Public License.  It is a mix
of the GPL and FDL, with "invariant code sections".

"We understand that this is a controversial move, and that paranoid
people will not like it", says Jarl Bong-Rundtörn, security officer
within the GMP project.  "But please remember that if you have nothing
to hide, you have nothing to fear" he concludes.

For the GMP project
Floria Lop

(no subject)

[AP: view source] STOCKHOLM — Sweden became the fifth European country to allow gay marriage.

Parliament on Wednesday adopted a new law that gives same-sex couples the same marriage rights as heterosexuals.

The Parliament's Web site says the new law will take effect on May 1.

The Netherlands, Norway, Belgium and Spain also allow gay marriages.

Sweden has recognized civil unions between homosexual couples since 1994. However, the old law stopped short of calling them marriages, which gay rights activists said was discriminatory.

It will still be up to individual churches to decide if they want to wed gay couples.

Swedish news agency TT says the 349-seat legislature passed the measure in 261-22 vote, with 66 lawmakers abstaining or absent.

ElcomSoft to Recover Passwords with a Tambourine

NewsFlash from the Inbox:

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April 1, 2009 -- ElcomSoft Co.Ltd. introduces Password Recovery Tambourine, a supernatural amulet to recover lost passwords with a 100% guarantee. The new tambourine is produced with genuine deer skin and requires training supervised by a qualified Yakutsk shaman. By offering guaranteed, 100% password recovery rate, ElcomSoft leaves competition behind once and forever.

Why Password Recovery Tambourine

Passwords affect people's lives. Lost and forgotten passwords can cost a life or a job. Strived to provide a solution to improve peoples' lives, ElcomSoft makes software for helping its customers recover passwords they've lost or forgotten. The company's password recovery tools are extremely effective, and literally save lives and jobs every other day. However, not all types of encryption are created equal. Some companies make exceptionally good effort protecting information, and use really secure algorithms from time to time. If a really secure password is used with those algorithms, the protected data is as good as gone.

Background

Universal cryptanalysis methods do exist. Government agencies, intelligence services and, in some countries, even police have successfully used methods such as rubber-hose cryptanalysis for years. Rubber-hose cryptanalysis allows passwords and keys to be discovered in a surprisingly short time. The method is quite computationally inexpensive. However, commercial use of this method is limited due to legal restrictions in most countries. ElcomSoft started a quest to develop a universal cryptanalysis method that is at least as effective as rubber-hose, but comes with no penalty of being inhumane or restricted to exclusive use by government agencies.

Development History

Several unsuccessful attempts were made to design the ultimate password recovery tool. Using a crystal ball seemed like a great idea at first, but was quickly rejected. Rabbit's foot seemed a better idea for some time, but subsequent tests demonstrated that the foot could only solve certain network problems with corporate LANs, and only when used by qualified system administrators. A voodoo doll was a total nightmare, doing anything but recovering passwords.

The first ray of hope shined after one of ElcomSoft's employees was sent to Yakutia, a freezing province in Russia with real bears. He brought a shaman's tambourine that was used regularly by the local tribe's shaman to find missing things. ElcomSoft has conducted a full-scale scientific research of the new tool, spending endless hours chatting with Yakutia locals and shamans who use tambourines more often than we use our toothbrushes. Over than two hundred ritual dances have been performed, and today, ElcomSoft is proud to announce that the ultimate tool to recover lost passwords that cannot be recovered it in a traditional way has emerged.

About Elcomsoft Password Recovery Tambourine

Elcomsoft Password Recovery Tambourine is anything but easy to use. A special supervised training program must be completed, stunts and tricks have to be learned, and spells in Yakutian language must be mastered. The price is barely affordable. A variety of models is available.

Standard model works for most users without special needs. Simple, reliable, not too expensive. Corporate model is based on the standard tambourine, and it can work with hundreds and thousands documents at the time. Special team training is required. Pocket version is easy to take on a trip, but it has some restrictions supporting less exotic formats than its bigger siblings. A comprehensive, 200-page manual is shipped with every tambourine.

To order or get more information on Elcomsoft Password Recovery Tambourine visit http://tambourine.elcomsoft.com/

About ElcomSoft Co. Ltd.

Established in 1990, ElcomSoft Co.Ltd. develops state-of-the-art computer forensics tools, provides computer forensics training and computer evidence consulting services. Since 1997, ElcomSoft has been providing support to businesses, law enforcement, military, and intelligence agencies. ElcomSoft tools are used by most of the Fortune 500 corporations, multiple branches of the military all over the world, foreign governments, and all major accounting firms. ElcomSoft and its officers are members of the Russian Cryptology Association. ElcomSoft is a Microsoft Certified Partner and an Intel Software Partner.

Old Farts of a Certain Age Will Be Amused

Daily Kos: Ready for the Future, Ready for the Enterprise

Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 10:32:03 AM PDT

There are many websites out there that have embraced the Web 2.0 philosophy. In today's environment, it's important to leverage social networks, new technologies like Ajax, and new computing initiatives like cloud computing.

There is something to be said for looking towards a simpler time, though. That's why I am proud to announce that after many man-months of effort, Daily Kos will be stepping up to enterprise level functionality and going WEB/360. Rather than use buttons and zooming menus that no one really understands, you'll now interface with Daily Kos using the tried and true JCL, delivered straight to your line printer.

Unfortunately we've had some difficulties with hooking up the virtual punch card readers that you'll use to browse the site, so a web form will have to suffice for the WEB/360 demonstration. Don't worry, it'll be just as easy to type the JCL in as it would be to use the punch cards.

Not all of the planned functionality is currently operational. We're still getting bugs out of the system (some physical bugs) and waiting for new processing units from IBM to arrive to assist with processing posting, rating, and logging in through the new interface.

The JCL syntax for WEB/360 is easy to learn and use. This sample code gives an overview:

//JOBNAME1 JOB
//MSGCLASS=S,CLASS=A,NOTIFY=CT
//STEP1 EXEC PGM=SCPREAD
//IDXT=MAIN /* or STOR, or DIAR, or COMM */
//OFFSET=0
//* or STORY ID=123456,MODE=STORONLY or MODE=STORFULL
//* or COMMT ID=27123456,MODE=FULL or MODE=SHRK
//SITE=DKOS
//        DISP=18
//* if IDXT is STOR or COMM, then DISP=,
//        SPOOL=$$U
//DSR MYSAM DSN=DKOS.LOAD,DISP=SHR
//SYSOUT DD SYSOUT=*

Notes:

• Every line must start with "//". This is important to keep you from putting your punchcards in backwards.
• Each line must be no longer than 71 characters including spaces and the starting "//".
• The job name must be present, and must be no more than 8 letters long. The word "JOB" must begin at the 12th character on the line. Add spaces if your job name is less than 8 letters long.
• Put your username in all caps after NOTIFY=.
• MAIN is the front page, DIARY is the diaries page, STOR is an individual story, and COMM is comments. Set IDXT to the desired format.
• OFFSET is the offset on the MAIN or DIAR pages. It functions like the "Next 18" link at the bottom of the page. Maximum value is 18. Set OFFSET to 0 for the current front page.
• There must be exactly 8 spaces between the "//" and DISP or SPOOL.
• //* and /* */ represent comments.
• Sometimes a problem in the computer will prevent your job from being processed. If the error message doesn't indicate a JCL syntax problem, just resubmit it.
• ADDENDUM:
  • DISP indicates how many stories to display, with a maximum value of 18.
  • Check your syntax - look for extra space a the end of your commands and remove it.
  • This document replaces the previous.
  • This list item intentionally left blank.

If something goes wrong, don't worry. The system will tell you exactly what went wrong in clear, easy to understand language. Just refer to Publication GZ28-1466-9, WEB/360 JCL Reference.

Remember, this is just a demonstration of the coming changes. I can't promise a firm date, but we should be moved over to the new system within three weeks. After that, Daily Kos will be fully WEB/360 enabled. A legacy "web browser" interface will be kept for a time, but it will be dropped at a future date, probably four weeks from now. A manual will be published to assist utilizing the site before that time.

Best One Today - BY FAR

MN-SEN: Coleman finally concedes