From: "\"RC5 Crackhead\"" <rc5@dev.null>
Date: Sun, 22 Jun 1997 12:49:59 +0800
To: cmcurtin@research.megasoft.com
Subject: Re: Garbled in transmission.
In-Reply-To: <199706210004.UAA26052@jazz.cape.com>
Message-ID: <33ACABDA.1FC4@dev.null>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



C Matthew Curtin wrote:

> The crack of the DES Challenge Key is important.  Presenting an
> accurate description of what happened is just as important.  There is
> no need to cause widespread panic, yet.  This is a shot across the
> proverbial bow.

  Screw presenting an accurate description.
  The test mode of the software indicates my machine will check about
80,000 keys/sec. In actuality, since I am running other programs as
I use it, it checks about 5,000 keys/sec.
  Using my machine as an example of the average efficiency of all
the 1,000 machines, one could thus estimate that the crack could have 
succeeded in about 90 days using one machine.

  So why not put out a press report making this claim? Headline News
would probably snap it up!
  The problem is that most people working to fight censorship and
oppression have this thing about wearing white hats and honesty and
all of that crap. Meanwhile, those working to censor and oppress
others to enhance their own power and finances are content to twist
the facts to fit their desires. And since they do have money and
power, their voice gets heard quite easily by the major media.

  Thus the people in Waco died because of a "mistake" and the 
people in OKC died because of a "monster."
  Thus the Netscape problem was a "bug" that needs fixing instead
of a wake-up call that if the government is allowed to require
programmers to build surveillance capabilities into our software,
then unknown others are going to take advantage of those built-in
capabilities. And thus those who uncover the compromising of our
privacy will be called "blackmailers" and "terrorists" by the
very people who intentionally wrote their software to support
the Clipper chip, or GAK, or the Next Step in fascism.
  Thus the DES crack was a monumental effort by a plethora of
computer gurus using a massive amount of computers, instead of
a mostly disorganized effort by a variety of people doing it as
an exercise in their spare time, and using the scraps from the
CPU tables of those participating.


  "Everybody knows that the boat is sinking.
   Everybody knows that the captain lied."
                  - Lou Reed

  In the end, the media gets away with feeding us lies because
that is what we want to hear.
  Everyone who wants to believe that they might wake up in the
morning with 800 law enforcement agents surrounding them because
of their religious beliefs, raise your hand.
  Everyone who wants to believe that if they blindly go along 
with all manner of injustice and justify it as "the way the
system works" that they need to fear personal reprisal, raise 
your hand.
  Everyone who wants to believe that every time you use your
computer over a phone line others can access your files, raise
your hand.
  Everyone who wants to believe that the government is perfectly
willing to compromise the security and privacy of your financial
transactions in order to stifle crypto development that won't
allow them fascist control over all information, raise your 
hand.

  "Everybody knows that the war is over.
   Everybody knows that the good guys lost."
                - Lou Reed

  I truly believe this, but it does not mean I won't continue
to work on the RC5 crack and continue to take small, halting
steps against the wind of middle-class fascism sweeping the 
country. I will continue to do so because I also believe that
the end of any war is the beginning of the next revolution.
  When Timothy McCypherpunk hacks a government hospital because
of weak security and because of weak encryption is able to
destroy their files, then I am sure that lives will be lost.
Even children's lives, perhaps.
  I am equally certain that he/she will be called a "blackmailer"
and a "terrorist" and a "monster." Why? Because the word
"revolutionary" is too scary.

  We can only have so many Waco's, just like we could only have
so many Kent State's, before people begin backing the "terrorists"
instead of the government.
  Louis Riel, a Canadian Metis (French-Indian) was hung as a
terroist murderer, and now there are statues honoring him
and government buildings bearing his name.
  We can hang Timothy McVeigh and Jim Bell and the Netscape
"blackmailer" but we can't guarantee that there won't be
a statue of them in the town square fifty years from now.

  When the information counter-revolution comes, remember that 
I started writing about it before Tim May began posting to
the hallowed cypherpunk archives. (a cheap shot, but a *good*
one, eh?)
http://bureau42.base.org/public/xenix
http://bureau42.base.org/public/webworld

RC5CrackHead