From: "Deranged Mutant" <WlkngOwl@unix.asb.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Jul 1996 04:13:34 +0800
To: eli+@gs160.sp.cs.cmu.edu
Subject: Re: NYT/CyberTimes on CWD article
Message-ID: <199607071744.NAA25788@unix.asb.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


On  6 Jul 96 at 16:56, eli+@gs160.sp.cs.cmu.edu wrote:

> >http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/0706patrol-reporters.html
> >              "If we believe the encryption scheme has
> >              been compromised, we will make another
> >              one."
[..]
> They have to give you the list, and they have to give you software
> that uses it, so there's no way to achieve complete secrecy.  I think
> the best they can do is to distribute a list of hashed URLs.

What? After they paid for the rights to use "Infinite Vigniere Key" 
Technology....

I'm surprised that they went so far as to try to encrypt the naughty 
URLs list (but some kids would get off on just reading the list alone 
anyway).

Hashing could be problematic... how to differentiate between a site 
and it's users.  www.pornopix.com is obvious, but the directory tree 
of www.localisp.com/~perv/mypix/ is harder to filter out with hashing 
if subdirectories or specific images are called up, unless the 
software has a way to differentiate between sites and specific users 
or directories on those sites.

(I wonder if the software can tell that ~perv/ and /users/home/perv/ 
or /home/perv/ can be the same directory on some systems? That would 
be an interesting flaw. Has anyone hacked with the software?)

Another problematic with Net-Nurse type software: a database of 
naughty sites and naughty users... a real goldmine for prosecutors.


Rob.
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Key-ID: 5D3F2E99 1996/04/22 wlkngowl@unix.asb.com (root@magneto)
        AB1F4831 1993/05/10 Deranged Mutant <wlkngowl@unix.asb.com>
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