From: loki@obscura.com (Lance Cottrell)
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 95 01:06:28 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: RE: Mixmaster status
Message-ID: <ac7edf5800021004fd74@[137.110.24.250]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


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I apologize for being so terse in my first message. This is not a red
herring. The organization that has approached me is very pro-privacy and
anonymity. I see nothing but good coming from this venture.

I will be very active in the development of the commercial version of
Mixmaster.

Let me be crystal clear.
1) I will not support any version of Mixmaster that is weakened.
2) All future clients will be able to generate the current message format.
3) All future servers will be able to read the current message format.
4) There will always be a free version of the client with source code.

While I have not discussed it, I can not imagine that there would not also
be a free version of the server code (with source). Without remailers what
is the point of the client software? 


At 8:45 PM 9/14/95, ROBO Mixmaster Remailer wrote:
>Flame Remailer <remailer@flame.alias.net> wrote:
>
>> Subject: Mixmaster status
>>
>>   There has been an offer to purchase and commercially develop Mixmaster.
>>   This will hasten the development of Mixmaster for other platforms (e.g.
>>   Dos, Windows  Macintosh), and bring significant improvements to the
>>   interface, but I will not compromise on the level of security provided by
>>   Mixmaster. Free client software will continue to be available.
>>
>>   This could be the big breakthrough for remailers, finally thrusting them
>>   out of the hobbyist's closet into the corporate world.
>>
>> I wonder. Where is the commercial market for remailers? Who has an
>> application for them except hobbyinst? Why would there be a commercial
>> incentive to run a mixmaster server, or even a client?
>>
>> Could this "offer" be a red herring?
>
>I wondered the same thing myself.  It would certainly be a more
>cost-effective way for the NSA to compromise Mixmaster technology
>than by brute force.
>
>Consider this scenario ...  Mixmaster get's bought by the Acme
>Crypto Company of Ft. Meade, MD.  They "improve" it, and offer a new
>version.  It's even FREE (for non-commerical use)!  But their
>"improvements" make it incompatible with previous versions, and so
>you have to upgrade.  The new "commercial" version comes with no
>SOURCE CODE, of course...

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----------------------------------------------------------
Lance Cottrell   loki@obscura.com
PGP 2.6 key available by finger or server.
Mixmaster, the next generation remailer, is now available!
http://obscura.com/~loki/Welcome.html or FTP to obscura.com

"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra.  Suddenly
it flips over, pinning you underneath.  At night the ice
weasels come."
                        --Nietzsche
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