From: covin@cs.uchicago.edu
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 93 11:22:47 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Hiding Encrypted Messages
Message-ID: <9303111921.AA11361@tartarus.uchicago.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>Please... I said: "It's as cumbersome, as one-time pad, but
>without one-time pad security."  Yes, it can be made as
>secure as PGP, but it's still less safe, than
>one-time pad.

I thought the point of hiding the message in a sound or picture file
was to *hide* it, not to gain additional encryption.  Any encryption
you want to do on the message is a separate issue.  Hiding the bits is
just supposed to keep anyone from *trying* to decrypt it in the first
place, and/or to allow you to claim if the message is intercepted that
you weren't *really* sending encrypted messages.

I suspect that if someone manages to decrypt the message, you just flat-out
lose on the "plausible deniability" question.  At least, if the message is
fairly long, coherent, grammatical, etc.  It's just too unlikely that a
long coherent message will be hidden in any regular way in an otherwise
random sequence of bits.  A little statistical analysis might allow some
happy government cryptographers to tell you exactly *how* unlikely it is
that they'd find a message in your data by chance...

As another way to muddy the waters, you might try making the original 
plaintext a bit muddled, ungrammatical, semi-incoherent, rife with 
misspellings, etc... :)

                            -David

ure
that are ahead of the mainstream, oriented towards the near-future.
This includes all realms of what is commonly called "new edge",
"technoculture", or "cyberculture" -- a mishmash of postmodernism,
psychedelics, hacking, raves, cyberspace, industrial music, cyberpunk
fiction and realities, etc., that are proving to be important
constructs in the evolution of world culture.
 
The file continues to grow and morph, and the initial response to it
prompted me to begin the FutureCulture E-List.  Those who share an
interest in the topics discussed in the file can participate in
in-depth or light-hearted discussions via the FutureCulture E-list,
which has proven to be an interesting and unique addition to the
vastness of cyberspace.
 
Readers and participants in FutureCulture have included at one time or
another a wide variety of sociologists and anthropoligists, authors
and writers, hackers, scientists, students, and prominent "cyber-"
oriented figures.
 
For a long time, I have dismissed print media in wake of the
interaction I saw occuring via e-media, such as the FutureCulture
list, and I would be one of those to shun society's love affair with
paper in wake of advancing computer and networking technologies.  Yet
through a seemingly unending discussion regarding the scope of the
popular phrase "information wants to be free", I have found my love
affair with e-media to in fact be quite out of date.  That may seem
contradictory to some, yet if we are truly to arrive at an infoculture
of global real-time interaction via cyberspace, we must first look at
the world in which we currently inhabit.  We live in a world where
paper and television are the informational messangers of choice to the
masses.
 
Thus, in an attempt to further propagate information to as wide an
audience as possible, I have begun [the] Infinite Edge zine.
 
The zine will be printed in black & white and 8 1/2 x 11", using
Macintoshes and laserprinters.  Below follows a basic text outline of
what [the] Infinite Edge will look like sans graphics and design, of
course.
 
I am looking for submissions and assistance with this project from all
angles:  fiction writers, essayists, ranters, graphic designers,
artists, poets, etc.  Submissions are welcome in any form, in any
style, in any tone, though that is not a guarantee that everything I
receive will be printed.  I am looking for submisison as soon as
possible, but feel free to send them in whenever you like.  For first
issue, send them in by the end of March.
 
Due to lack of available resources, I am unable as of yet to reward
monetarily those who contribute to [the] Infinite Edge.  I have little
money, and my primary interest is producing the highest-quality zine
possible, containg an immense spectrum of information.
 
If you would like to contribute to [the] Infinite Edge in any way,
shape, or form, please send all queries, submissions, tips, words of
wisdom, etc., to me on the Internet at:
 
                      ahawks@nyx.cs.du.edu
 
If you do not have Internet access, please send mail to:
 
                      Andy Hawks
                      4290 South Mobile Cir. #D
                      Aurora,  CO     80013
                      USA
 
By the way, I am looking at offering [the] Infinite Edge at a cost of
$3 per issue.  The first issue is not completed yet, but if you are
anxious, please contact me via email or snail mail.  Groovy.
 
[the] Infinite Edge
___________________
 
 
Focusing on the Edges of Culture, examining the Fringes of Reason and
the Reasons of Fringe, the Here and Now and Soon-to-Be, via
unstrcutured Tones that Ebb and Flow from In-Form Information to
Formless Rants of Altered States.
 
[the] Infinite Edge is Divided into the following sections:
 
GENESYS
 
      Notes from the Editor, Leters from those that Grep and/or Grok
      the Infinite Edge.
 
 
32-BIT
 
      Soundbytes of the World, Unite and Take Over.  Blurbs
      pertaining to interesting news and products, quotes,
      technology, factoids, etc.
 
 
MODERN
 
      Cultural Commentary - Realizing, Focusing, and Morphing
      the PostModern World.  Rants, Essays, Theses, Observations,
      Predictions, Analyses, Streams and Rivers of Consciousness.
 
 
-SUB
 
      The Depths of the Underground Subcultures.  Rants, Essays,
      Theses, Observations, Predicions, Analyses, and Information.
 
 
E+
 
      The Virtual World.  News, Notes, Notables and Quotables, Rants,
      Essays, Theses, Observations, Predictions, Analyses,
      Communication, Teknologies.
 
 
VILLAGE VIEWS
 
      Interviews (I-Views) and E-Views with those who Surf, Ride,
      Make and Break the Edges of Culture.
 
 
STREAMZ
 
      Fiction on The Edge:  Transreal, Hyperreal, SlipStream,
      Cyberpunk, Post-Cyberpunk, [insert_any_word_here], etc.
 
 
MEDI8
 
      Reviewing, Analyzing, and Commentary regarding Popular and
      Underground Media:  Books, Magazines, Zines, E-Zines, E-Books,
      Hypertext, Music, Film, Video, Television, Software, etc.
 
 
MOBIUS
 
      One Last Informational Fix, Closing Words, Late-Crashing News,
      etc.
 
 
If you would like to contribute to [the] Infinite Edge in any way,
shape, or form, please send all queries, submissions, tips, words of
wisdom, etc., to me on the Internet at:
 
                      ahawks@nyx.cs.du.edu
 
If you do not have Internet access, please send mail to:
 
                      Andy Hawks
                      4290 South Mobile Cir. #D
                      Aurora,  CO     80013
                      USA