From: pcw@access.digex.net (Peter Wayner)
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 94 20:36:06 PDT
To: Michael Handler <grendel@netaxs.com>
Subject: Re: NATIONAL SECURITY PORN RISK
Message-ID: <199407130335.AA29451@access2.digex.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



> "Computer at Nuclear Lab Used for Access to Porn"
>[ snip ]
>-- Excerpt --
>One computer expert, who requested anonymity, said there might be more
>to the incident than meets the eye.  The expert suggested that the hard-core
>pornography may be a cover for an ultra-sophisticated espionage program,
>in which a "sniffer" program combs through other Livermore computers,
>encodes the passwords and accounts it finds, and then hides them within
>the pornographic images, perhaps to be downloaded by foreign agents.
>-- End excerpt --
>
>        It's a Steganography reference. This sets off my warning bells -- 
>why would they explicitly mention the Stego technique, unless possibly it 
>was used in the porn ring there? Granted, Stego makes good journalism 
>fodder ("Hide your encrypted nuclear bomb plans in porn GIFs from the 
>Internet!"), but it's definitely not as sexy [sic] as "Taxpayer-funded 
>computers used in secret porn ring!" Anybody know exactly what was going 
>on at LLL? We can't get papers easily up here. :(
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Michael Brandt Handler                                <grendel@netaxs.com> 
>Philadelphia, PA                                    <mh7p+@andrew.cmu.edu>
>Currently at CMU, Pittsburgh, PA            PGP v2.6 public key on request
>Boycott Canter & Siegel                <<NSA>> 1984: We're Behind Schedule

I think that the Steganography is just an excuse to close down the place. 
It _could_ happen, therefore we should defend against it. Of course, every
spy knows that blending in is the most important trick. It would be better
to hide the information in something bland.

On the other hand, a gif-station is one of the few types of ftp sites that
attract enough attention to drown out the one transfer from the spies.