From: "John Smith" <jsmith58@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 27 Sep 1997 06:12:54 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Technology center
Message-ID: <19970926215538.6978.qmail@hotmail.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



One of the parts that got added to the SAFE bill is this new
Technology center.  It is supposed to help the FBI when they
run into encryption.

We all know that's not going to work.  Not very well anyway.
Maybe if it's some bogus encryption like the SMIME that has a
new crack program out for it, they'll get through it.  But if it
is real crypto then there's no way the Technology center is going
to be cracking keys.

What I think they'll do is work on virus software.  They can write
something which will hack the crypto on your PC and make it weak.
If they want to wiretap some drug dealer, they get him to download
one of their programs somehow.  Maybe they've got a Java bug which
lets them hack files when he goes to a certain web page.  Or maybe
they get him to download some free demo of a game or interaction
service (hotchicks.com).  Whatever, the program actually looks for
PGP and other crypto software and hacks it.  Now the FBI can read
his stuff.

This is probably even legal.  If they could break into his house and
stick a bug in his computer, why can't they do the same thing
electronically.

They might even want to set things up ahead of time so that crypto
software gets hacked for everyone.  They won't look, see, unless
they get a judge to OK it.  But they get some utility that everybody
uses like realaudio or winzip, and they convince the author to put
in their hack.  Now everybody who uses this has their crypto broken.
The FBI promises not to do any decryption without a warrant, so they
haven't actually stolen anyone's privacy.

Maybe they could even set it up so that it was only broken for the
FBI, that anybody else wouldn't be able to read it.

Do you think would try this?  What would you do if you were an
a**hole and ran the Technology center?

"John

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