From: "Frank O'Dwyer" <fod@brd.ie>
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998 06:50:44 +0800
To: Adam Back <aba@dcs.ex.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: propose: `cypherpunks license' (Re: Wanted: Twofish source code)
In-Reply-To: <199810081945.UAA14149@server.eternity.org>
Message-ID: <361D3BD9.328931B5@brd.ie>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



Adam Back wrote:
> You seem to be
> arguing that the primary goal should be to have best security, from
> the outset.  ie one gets the impression from reading your previous two
> posts that you consider ultimate security more important than
> deployment.  If this is what you are saying, I disagree.

No, I am arguing that if deployment of privacy is your goal, then you
need _some_ base level of security before you've really deployed
privacy. Deploying crypto is not the same thing. I do agree that it's
important to get stuff "out there" in whatever form (partly to get it
fixed, but mainly so it can't be shut down). I just think the closed
source route is a dead end. I also think that the free crypto libraries
exist, and now it would be nice to see free crypto applications. By that
I mean turnkey stuff with Windows installation programs and GUIs that
normal people can use--and *source* (turnkey for developers too). Make
it easy to have privacy, basically.

[...]
> if people mention software, it is nice to know some details:
> why should we be interested in your software etc.

Well, it's early days (I am just designing and prototyping now), but my
goal is to make a decentralised secure messaging client that ordinary
ISP users can use without any special resources. Something like icq, but
with crypto and without any central server, the intention being that it
would be easier to set up and harder to filter or shut down. I have in
mind an abstract messaging service that can be extended to use whatever
channel or drop-point happens to be available (e.g. irc, direct sockets,
email, remailers, ftp, usenet, intermediaries, icq). So for example you
could use irc just to rendezvous with someone (or meet them in the first
place), then use diffie-hellman to establish a private channel for a
real-time chat, then subsequently use an ftp site or a newsgroup to
exchange offline messages. The challenge is to make this easy. It's
something I want for myself, but I figure with the addition of a nice
GUI and an installer etc., it could be of wider interest. (And no, I
have no idea when I'll have some code to show, but I guess now I've
mentioned it I better finish it :)

Cheers,
Frank O'Dwyer.