Mailinglist Archive: opensuse (1784 mails)

[cliff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Cliff Sarginson)]

From: Cliff Sarginson <cliff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2000 19:32:33 +0100
Message-Id: <00120619323302.01722@buffy>
Subject: Re: [SLE] A very interesting paper by Ken Thompson..



On Wednesday 06 December 2000 00:39, Jerry Kreps wrote:
> I don't know if my email from work made it through the firewall
> so I am resending the source for the pgp backdoor.
>
> http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2000-18.html
>
> JLK
>
> On Tuesday 05 December 2000 08:02, peter hollings wrote:
> > It's interesting (from a civil liberties perspective) that there is
> > a backdoor into PGP.  Can you tell me more? How did this come
> > about?  Was it publicized?  Does encryption technology without
> > backdoors exist?  If so, how can we be sure?
> >
> > Also, of potential interest is the FBI's "Carnivore" system.
> > Carnivore basically automates the surveillance process on the
> > Internet.  If one combines backdoors with surveillance, one has
> > quite a capability.  For a recent study on Carnivore see:
> > http://www.usdoj.gov/jmd/publications/carniv_entry.htm   .
> >
> > For SuSE this may be off-topic.  If we hear any objection, I
> > propose that we move it off the list.
> >
I would think anyone on this list concerned with security would be
well advised to take an interest in this !

(just when you thought it was safe to go into the water...)

Cliff

> > Regards,
> >
> > Peter Hollings
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Jerry Kreps" <jerrykreps@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> > To: "zentara" <zentara@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "peter hollings"
> > <phollings@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Cc: <adams@xxxxxxxxxxx>; <jkreps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "suse-linux-e"
> > <suse-linux-e@xxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Monday, December 04, 2000 5:28 PM
> > Subject: Re: [SLE] A very interesting paper by Ken Thompson..
> >
> > > On Monday 04 December 2000 15:36, zentara wrote:
> > > > peter hollings wrote:
> > > > > Yes, the NSA is a possibility, but I'd be more concerned
> > > > > about the ill effects on society that could be brought about
> > > > > via a widely distributed, closed, proprietary system such as
> > > > > Windows. It's another reason for using Linux.
> > > >
> > > > I'm an old windows basher, but as the article stated, no OS is
> > > > immune to the microcode attack.
> > > > I was discussing a while back whether pgp and other encryption
> > > > programs had "backdoors" in them, the answer was "if it exists,
> > > > it's in our c compilers", controlled by very high level people.
> > > > I have a paranoid streak. :-)
> > >
> > > It's not paranoia if it true, and with regards to pgp it is true.
> > >  The NSA backdoor to version 6.x of pgp (I don't remember if 5.x
> > > has the backdoor) is verified.  That is why there was a recent
> > > mass movement from pgp to gpg
> > >
> > > --
> > > Scientific theories, according to Sir Karl Popper, can be
> > > "falsified," or
> >
> > proven wrong, by experiment.
> >
> > > Unscientific theories -Marxist dialectical history and Freudian
> > > psychology
> >
> > were Popper's favorites-
> >
> > > are formed in such a way that they cannot be falsified by data.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
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