From: "Timothy C. May" <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Tue, 29 Oct 1996 12:03:41 -0800 (PST)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com (Cypherpunks Mailing List)
Subject: How do you spell "Internet"? T-H-R-E-A-T
In-Reply-To: <199610290435.XAA11932@homeport.org>
Message-ID: <v03007801ae9c221ad764@[207.167.93.63]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



I notice two conference announcements this morning, both focussed on the
Internet as a _threat_. While the conference organizers no doubt don't mean
to play into the hands of the Administration's self-serving scaremongering
about the Four Horsemen, it _is_ interesting that the focus of more and
more attention is on threats to the Internet. (And a possible subtext of
threats _by_ the Internet.)

Here are the two announcements:

At 11:35 PM -0500 10/28/96, Adam Shostack wrote:
>Anyone else planning to go to the DIMACS workshop on network threats?
>December 4-6 at Rutgers.
>
>http://dimacs.rutgers.edu/Workshops/Threats/index.html
>
>Seems like its shaping up to be a fun workshop.

and then this:

At 12:10 PM -0500 10/29/96, Alex Newman wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>I'm Alex Newman, on of the conference organizers for "Computers & The
>Law III", Dec 1-4, 1996 in San Jose, CA.  The theme this year is
>"Assessing the Internet Threat".  I was wondering if there was anyone
>in the San Francisco/Silicon Valley area who was going to be there who
>wanted to sit on a panel about the CDA.

I assume the Rutgers conference is more about the threats _to_ the
Internet, and that the "Assessing the Internet Threat" is more about the
Four Horsemen, pedophiles, decency, V-Chips, key escrow, export
restrictions, import bans, zero tolerance for crypto abusers, and all that
Big Brother stuff.

If my theory is right, that the Internet is increasingly being portrayed
(by some journalists, by many politicians, and by conferences) as a scary
place that needs to be regulated and policed, expect our various friends
and families to ask us about the "dangers" of the Net.

Creating a sense of fear is always the first step.

--Tim May





"The government announcement is disastrous," said Jim Bidzos,.."We warned IBM
that the National Security Agency would try to twist their technology."
[NYT, 1996-10-02]
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1,257,787-1 | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."