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Computer underground Digest Sun Feb 6, 1994 Volume 6 : Issue 13
ISSN 1004-042X
Editors: Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer (TK0JUT2@NIU.BITNET)
Archivist: Brendan Kehoe (Improving each day)
Acting Archivist: Stanton McCandlish
Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth
Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala
Ian Dickinson
Coppice Editor: P. Bunyan
CONTENTS, #6.13 (Feb 6, 1994)
File 1--Proposed Computer Crime Amendment (HR 3355)
File 2--"DIGITAL WOES" by Wiener (Book Review)
File 3--Review: "Computer Viruses, Artificial Life & Evolution"
File 4--A Guide to Technological Disasters to Come
File 5--New AIDS BBS
File 6--1994-01-26 Notice of NII Advisory Council Open Meeting
File 7--Anti-Clipper Petition from CPSRClipper Petition
Cu-Digest is a weekly electronic journal/newsletter. Subscriptions are
available at no cost electronically.
To subscribe, send a one-line message: SUB CUDIGEST your name
Send it to LISTSERV@UIUCVMD.BITNET or LISTSERV@VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU
The editors may be contacted by voice (815-753-0303), fax (815-753-6302)
or U.S. mail at: Jim Thomas, Department of Sociology, NIU, DeKalb, IL
60115.
Issues of CuD can also be found in the Usenet comp.society.cu-digest
news group; on CompuServe in DL0 and DL4 of the IBMBBS SIG, DL1 of
LAWSIG, and DL1 of TELECOM; on GEnie in the PF*NPC RT
libraries and in the VIRUS/SECURITY library; from America Online in
the PC Telecom forum under "computing newsletters;"
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COMPUTER UNDERGROUND DIGEST is an open forum dedicated to sharing
information among computerists and to the presentation and debate of
diverse views. CuD material may be reprinted for non-profit as long
as the source is cited. Authors hold a presumptive copyright, and
they should be contacted for reprint permission. It is assumed that
non-personal mail to the moderators may be reprinted unless otherwise
specified. Readers are encouraged to submit reasoned articles
relating to computer culture and communication. Articles are
preferred to short responses. Please avoid quoting previous posts
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DISCLAIMER: The views represented herein do not necessarily represent
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violate copyright protections.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 4 Feb, 1994 22:12:32 EST
From: CuD Moderators <cudigest@mindvox.phantom.com>
Subject: File 1--Proposed Computer Crime Amendment (HR 3355)
((MODERATORS' NOTE: We're periodically asked about "that new law that
makes virus writing illegal." We know of no such piece of specific
legislation, although malicious destruction of systems by viruses and
other means are currently covered in most state and federal computer
crime statutes.
We assume the question refers to the computer crime section of the
proposed federal "Crime Bill" (Formerly HR 3355, now S-1607). Following
is the text of the amendment)).
TITLE XXVI--COMPUTER CRIME
Sec 26.01. COMPUTER ABUSE AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1993
(a) SHORT TITLE.--This title may be cited as the
"Computer Abuse Amendments Act of 1993."
(b) PROHIBITION.--Section 1030(a)(5) of title 18,
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
"(5)(A) through means of a computer used in
interstate commerce or communications, knowingly
causes the transmission of a program, information,
code, or command to a computer or computer system
if--
"(i) the person causing the transmission intends
that such transmission will--
"I) damage, or cause damage to, a
computer, computer system, network, information,
data, or program; or
"(II) withhold or deny, or cause the
withholding or denial, of the use of a computer,
computer services, system or network,
information, data or program; and
"(ii) the transmission of the harmful component
of the program, information, code, or command--
(491)
"(I) occurred without the knowledge and
authorization of the persons or entities
who own or are responsible for the computer
system receiving the program, information,
code, or command; and
"(II)(aa) causes loss or damage to one
or more other persons of value aggregating
$1,000 or more during any1-year period;
or
"(bb) modifies or impairs, or potentially
modifies or impairs, the medical examination,
medical diagnosis, medical treatment, or medical
care of one or more individuals; or
"(B) through means of a computer used in interstate
commerce or communication, knowingly causes the transmission
of a program, information, code, or command to a computer or
computer system--
"(i) with reckless disregard of a substantial and
unjustifiable risk that the transmission will--
"(I) damage, or cause damage to, a
computer, computer system, network, information,
data or program; or
(492)
"(II) withhold or deny or cause the
withholding or denial of the use of a computer,
computer services, system, network, information,
data or program and
"(ii) if the transmission of the harmful
component of the program, information, code, or
command--
"(I) occurred without the knowledge and
authorization of the persons or entities who own
or are responsible for the computer system
receiving the program, information, code, or
command; and
"(II)(aa) causes loss or damage to one
or more other persons of a value aggregating
$1,000 or more during any 1-year period; or
"(bb) modifies or impairs, or potentially
modifies or impairs, the medical examination,
medical diagnosis, medical treatment,
or medical care of one or more individuals;".
(c) PENALTY.--Section 1030(c) of title 18, United
States Code is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)(B) by striking "and" after
the semicolon;
(493)
(2) in paragraph (3)(A) by inserting "(A)" after
"(a)(5); and
(3) in paragraph (3)(B) by striking the period
at the end thereof and inserting "; and"; and
(4) by adding at the end thereof the following:
"(4) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not
more than 1 year, or both, in the case of an offense under
subsection (a)(5)(B).
(d) CIVIL ACTION.--Section 1030 of Title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new
subsection:
"(g) Any person who suffers damage or loss by reason of a
violation of the section, other than a violation of subsection
(a)(5)(B), may maintain a civil action against the violator to
obtain compensatory damages and injunctive relief or other
equitable relief. Damages for violations of any subsection other
than subsection (a)(5)(A)(ii)(II)(bb) or (a)(5)(B)(ii)(II)(bb) are
limited to economic damages. No action may be brought under this
subsection unless such action is begun within 2 years of the date
of the act complained of or the date of the discovery of the
damage.".
(e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.--Section 1030 of title 18 United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the
following new subsection:
(494)
"(h) The Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury
shall report to the Congress annually, during the first 3 years
following the date of the enactment of this subsection, concerning
investigations and prosecutions under section 1030(aa)(5)of title
18, United States Code".
(f) PROHIBITION.--Section 1030(a)(3) of title 18 United
States Code, is amended by inserting "adversely" before "affects
the use of the Government's operation of such computer."
------------------------------
Date: 31 Jan 1994 16:26:51 -0600
From: ROBERTS@DECUS.CA(Rob Slade, Ed. DECrypt & ComNet, VARUG rep,
Subject: File 2--"DIGITAL WOES" by Wiener (Book Review)
BKDGTLWO.RVW 931223
Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
Heather Rignanesi, Marketing, x340, 73171.657@Compuserve.com
P.O. Box 520
26 Prince Andrew Place
Don Mills, Ontario
M3C 2T8
416-447-5101
fax: 416-443-0948
or
Tiffany Moore, Publicity tiffanym@aw.com
Bob Donegon bobd@aw.com
John Wait, Editor, Corporate and Professional Publishing johnw@aw.com
Tom Stone, Editor, Higher Education Division tomsto@aw.com
1 Jacob Way
Reading, MA 01867-9984
800-822-6339
617-944-3700
Fax: (617) 944-7273
5851 Guion Road
Indianapolis, IN 46254
800-447-2226
"Digital Woes", Wiener, 1993, 0-201-62609-8, U$22.95/C$29.95
lauren@reed.edu
When reviewing books on technical topics, one quickly learns to dread
the work of those who do not actually practice in the field. (Yes, we
are told that Wiener is a technical writer. They may very well be
professionals, but the overwhelming majority are not technical
professionals.) With this prejudice firmly in place, it came as a
delightful surprise to find that "Digital Woes" is an accurate,
well-researched, and thoroughly engaging treatment of the subject of
software risks.
Chapter one is a list of specific examples of software failures, large
and small. The stories are thoroughly documented and well told. The
choice of examples is careful, and useful as well, covering a variety
of problems. One could, of course, add to the list. In the virus
field programs are extremely limited in function and rarely exceed
3000 bytes in length, yet almost every viral strain shows some
programming pathology; most of the damage seems to be done by mistake.
The user interfaces of antivirals are subject to hot debate, perhaps
more importantly than in other systems because of the risks involved
in misunderstanding. In regard to decision support, I recall the
assumption, on the part of Excel, that everyone wants to use linear
forecasting. Everyone involved in technical fields will be able to
add other specific examples. For those uninvolved, Wiener's work is
quite sufficient and convincing.
Chapter two is an explanation of why software contains bugs, and why
software errors are so deadly. Techies will feel somewhat
uncomfortable with the lack of jargon, but persevere. Initially, I
thought she had missed the point of the difference between analogue
and digital systems--until I realized I was in the middle of a
complete and clear explanation that never had to use the word
"analog". (Technopeasants will, of course, appreciate the lack of
jargon. Rest assured that the same ease of reading and clarity of
language holds throughout the book.)
Chapter three examines the various means used to try to ensure the
reliability of software--usually with a depressing lack of success.
As with all who have worked in the field, I can relate to the comments
regarding the difficulty of testing. At one point I uncovered a bug
in the third minor variant of the fourth major release of the fifth
generation of a communications program. Apparently I was the first
person on staff who had ever wanted to keep a running log between
sessions--and the functions I used combined to completely lock up the
computer.
Most RISKS-FORUM readers will by now be nodding and muttering, "So
what else is new". However, Wiener here proves herself capable of
some valuable and original contributions beyond the pronouncements of
those working in the field. Noting that she is familiar with
programmers who have never, in twenty years of work, had their code
incorporated into a delivered product, she raises the issue of what
this type of work environment does to the psyche of the worker. My
grandfather carved the wooden decorations in our church, and, fifty
years after his death, I can still point that out. However, in a
career of analysis, training and support, I can point to little beyond
an amount of Internet bandwidth consumed. (Many would say "wasted".)
To the ephemeral nature of the craft, though, one must add the legacy
of constant failure. Martin Seligman's "Learned Helplessness" points
out the danger quite clearly. A similar thought was voiced some years
ago over the impact on developing youth of the then new video games,
and the fact that you could advance through levels but never,
ultimately, win. These children are grown now. You may know them as
"Generation X".
Chapter four deals with means to prevent failure. Actually most of
the material discusses recovery--assuming that the system will
eventually fail, how to ensure that the failure causes the least
damage.
Chapter five is entitled "Big Plans" and looks at various proposed new
technologies and the risks inherent in them. In this discussion
Wiener warns against those who are overly thrilled with the promises
of the new technology. I agree, but I would caution that public
debate is also dominated by those strident with fear. The arguments
of both sides tend to entrench to defeat the opposition, while the
public, itself, sits bemused in the middle without knowing whom to
believe. It is a major strength of Wiener's work that the field is
explored thoroughly and in an unbiased manner.
Many books which try to present an objective view of a controversial
problem tend to trail off into meaningless weasel-words, but the final
chapter here concerns "The Wise Use of Smart Stuff." Wiener lists a
good set of criteria to use in evaluating a proposed system. The one
item I would recommend be toned down is the axiom that personal care
be excluded. I keep an old Berke Breathed "Bloom County" cartoon in
my office wherein Opus, the Penguin, berates a computer for depriving
him of his humanity until the bemused machine attempts to confirm that
Opus is human. The perceived coldness of our institutions is often
illusory. I once worked in a geriatric hospital and thought it a
shame that our culture did not keep aging parents at home. Until,
that is, I lived in a culture that did, and found that the
"technology" of our hospitals provided more human contact to the old
folks than did the "organic" home care. I also note that the
belittled ELIZA is the only program to have passed the Turing test so
far. A limited, unexpected, and hilarious pass, perhaps, but a pass
nonetheless.
I note, as I am reviewing this book, a press release by a headhunting
agency that half of all executives are computer illiterate. The
survey method is extremely suspect, and I assume these figures are so
kind as to be ridiculous. I would heartily recommend this work to
technical and non-technical workers alike. Particularly, though, I
recommend it to those executives who are the ones to make the ultimate
decisions on major projects. Please re-read it after the next vendor
demo you attend.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKDGTLWO.RVW 931223
Postscriptum - my wife agrees with Peter Denning that I tend to
editorialize in my reviews. This is likely true. "Digital Woes",
however, deals with a topic which has prompted many editorials--and
deals with it well. Permission granted to distribute with unedited
copies of the Digest
======================
DECUS Canada Communications, Desktop, Education and Security group
newsletters Editor and/or reviewer ROBERTS@decus.ca, RSlade@sfu.ca,
Rob Slade at 1:153/733 DECUS Symposium '94, Vancouver, BC, Mar 1-3,
1994, contact: rulag@decus.ca
------------------------------
Date: 31 Jan 94 15:24:24 EST
From: Urnst Kouch/Crypt Newsletter <70743.1711@COMPUSERVE.COM>
Subject: File 3--Review: "Computer Viruses, Artificial Life & Evolution"
Just after Christmas, on December 27th, Addison-Wesley France
was served with a temporary legal notice prohibiting the
distribution of its recently published French language
edition of Mark Ludwig's "Little Black Book of Computer Viruses,
Volume 1." Entitled "Naissance d'un Virus," or "Birth of a Virus," the
French edition was selling for about $50 cash money. The company is
also distributing a disk containing copies of Ludwig's TIMID,
INTRUDER, KILROY and STEALTH viruses separately for a few dollars
more.
However, before the ink was dry on the paper a French judge dismissed
the complaint, said Ludwig between laughs during a recent interview.
Addison-Wesely France, he said, subsequently worked the fuss into good
publicity, enhancing demand for "Naissance d'un Virus."
Almost simultaneously, Ludwig has published through his American Eagle
corporation, its follow-up: "Computer Viruses, Artificial Life and
Evolution," which will come as a great surprise to anyone expecting
"The Little Black Book of Computer Viruses, Part II."
For those absent for the history, "The Little Black Book of Computer
Viruses," upon publication, was almost uniformly denounced - by the
orthodox computer press - as the work of someone who must surely be a
dangerous sociopath.
Most magazines refused to review or mention it, under the working
assumption that to even speak about viruses for an extended length -
without selling anti-virus software - only hastens the digital
disintegration of the world. Ludwig found himself engaged in a
continued battle for advertising for his book, losing contracts
without notice while the same publications continued to stuff their
pages with spreads for cosmological volumes of pornography. This has
always been a curious, but consistent, hypocrisy. The real truth, for
the entirety of the mainstream computer press, is that it has _always_
been OK for anyone among the citizenry - including children - to
potentially rot their minds with various digital pictographic
perversions; it is not OK for the same audience to have the potential
to electronically rot their computers' files with Ludwig's simple
viruses, none of which are in the wild over a year after publication
of the book. Another consideration the mainstream journals must deal
with is that if they were to suddenly and unilaterally control
pornographic advertising, the loss in revenue would cause some of them
to fail. In the end, it's always been a money thing. Pornographers
have it. Mark Ludwig is only one account.
[This has gotten more interesting since one of the larger computer
porn advertisers, the manufacturer of the CD-ROM "For Adults Only
(FAO) Gold" collection, has also entered the virus business, selling
issues of the virus-programming journal 40HEX on its "Forbidden
Secrets" CD-ROM. The "Forbidden Secrets" disk has been advertised in
the same full-page ads as the "FAO Gold" collections.]
Not surprisingly, the controversy has kept sales of "The Little Black
Book" brisk since its initial printing and financed the expansion of
American Eagle.
Which brings us, finally, to "Computer Viruses, Artificial Life and
Evolution," a book which takes a hard scientific look at life and the
theory of evolution, and only incidentally contains working viruses.
To grapple with the underlying philosophy behind "CVAL&E," its helpful
to know Ludwig was a physics major at Caltech in Pasadena, CA, at a
time when Nobel-laureate theoretical physicists Richard Feynman and
Murray Gell-Mann were in residence. The ruthlessness with which these
scientists dealt with softer disciplines not up to the task of
thorough theoretical analysis coupled with the academic meat-grinder
that is Caltech's reputation, casts its shadow on "CVAL&E."
Ludwig writes in the introduction:
". . . Once I was a scientist of scientists. Born in the age of
Sputnik, and raised in the home of a chemist, I was enthralled with
science as a child. If I wasn't dissolving pennies in acid, I was
winding an electromagnet, or playing with a power transistor, or . . .
freezing ants with liquid propane. When I went to MIT for college I
finally got my chance to totally immerse myself in my first love. I
did rather well at it too, finishing my undergraduate work in two
years and going on to study elementary particle physics under Nobel
laureates at Caltech. Yet by the time I got my doctorate the spell
was forever broken . . . I saw less and less of the noble scientist
and more and more of the self-satisfied expert."
And this sets the tenor for the rest of the book, as Ludwig analyzes
Darwinian evolution and, by the standards of intellectual rigor
imposed by post-War theoretical physics, declares it even more squishy
than theories of quantum gravity and black holes; the answer as to how
present day life came from the primordial soup of biopolymers is
always skittering away out of reach in an impenetrable fog of
hypothetical bullshit.
It's not clear at all how a mixture of even the most complex
biomacromolecules resulted in predecessors of _E. coli_, the simplest
algae or any precursors of the archaebacteria, without resorting to
creationism or spontaneous generation. Ludwig - using some heavy math
- chews the probabilities up and spits them out as miraculous, not
very helpful when you're wearing the traditional scientist's hat.
Then he does the same for the simplest of computer viruses - using as
examples a disk copying program which, if altered in one line of
instructions, can be made into a primitive boot sector virus.
To understand the material fully is a tough job; if you don't have
some experience with statistical thermodynamics, probabilistic studies
and differential equations, frankly, it will take you a while to get
up to the speed where the lion's share of "CVA&E" doesn't lose you.
Ludwig's science is good, his understanding of basic biochmemistry and
microbiology solid enough to support any arguments made as he works
his way through the inadequacies of evolution. Unlike Steven Levy's
"Artificial Life," Ludwig makes no chirpy assertions that such as the
Brain virus are a mere step away from animation. Instead, in "CVA&E"
he asks the reader to concede that Darwinian theory doesn't seen
likely to explain anything about genesis satisfying to pure
determinists. And, outside of whole-heartedly buying into astronomer
Fred Hoyle's ideas about freeze-dried virus and bacterial suspensions
frozen in cometary ice and dropped into the atmosphere as seed from
the depths of space, research into the dawn of life of Earth is going
nowhere fast. So Ludwig asks us not to discard computer viruses and
computerized artificial life as potential tools to look at the
problem.
By the finish Ludwig, of course, hasn't come up with the answer
either. And, he admits, you have to fudge a bit
- maybe a lot - to swallow the contemporary ideas about artificial
life. And then he takes another risk by asking readers to entertain
the fancy that if we don't get a handle on some fresh ideas about
evolution and the origins of life, sooner or later something will show
up in our backyard and get a handle on us. It's a wild ride, but an
enjoyable one.
"CVAL&E" also includes some interesting programs, most notably
SLIP-Scan, a variably encrypting virus which uses the Trident
Polymorphic Encryptor and a code construct Ludwig calls the Darwinian
Genetic Mutation Engine. This engine, which Ludwig has written to
mimic a simple gene, encodes constantly changing information within
the virus that is used to modulate the operation of the Trident
encryptor, thus confering on the virus a directed evolution in
successive generations sensitive to the presence of anti-virus
software elimination of replicants in large numbers of infections.
SLIP-Scan replicates and places a segment of information produced by
the Darwinian Engine in an unused portion of computer memory, where it
is read by a different member of the SLIP-Scan population and used to
hybridize the data carried in the subsequent progeny. Ludwig has made
this a computerized mimic of one of the simplest ways in which
bacteria exchange genetic information, via small connecting tubes
through the medium called pili. In SLIP-Scan's case, computer RAM is
the bridge through the environment along which the "genetic" material
is transferred between virus offspring. The result of this is that
polymorphic progeny of SLIP-Scan not caught by anti-virus software
slowly are selected in a Darwinian manner for offspring which cannot
be detected. While this might sound threatening, the population of
viruses required to demonstrate the effect is such that it is unlikely
it would be a factor on real world computers, even if the virus were
in the wild.
The winning program in Ludwig's First International Virus Writing
Contest is also in "CVAL&E." Written by a virus programmer known as
Stormbringer, the Companion-101 virus is used by the author to work
out the probability of viruses evolving into different variations
through faults in computer memory and translation.
"Computer Viruses, Artificial Life and Evolution" is an intriguing,
thorough read. If you go looking for it, be prepared to spend some
time.
[American Eagle, POB 41401, Tucson, AZ 85717]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 94 20:18 EST
From: ktark%src4src@IMAGEEK.YORK.CUNY.EDU(Karl Tarhk)
Subject: File 4--A Guide to Technological Disasters to Come
A GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGICAL DISASTERS TO COME.
by Kohntark (ktark@src4src.linet.org)
Technical Editor of CRYPT magazine.
There are millions of words wasted in endless discussion about what a
wonderful world this will be once the technological marvels to come
take over, about how interconnected humanity will become once the Data
Highway is in place and we have all the gizmos brought to you by the
world's leading companies and most brilliant minds, about how we will
have endless sources of information at our fingertips, about how easy
and enjoyable life will be..in other words nothing short of the second
coming of Jesus (or your favourite messiah for all of you non-Catholic
types).
I see the AT&T advertisements asking things like "Have you ever sent
someone a fax from the beach?", "Have you ever borrowed a book from
thousands of miles away?" "Have you ever paid a toll without slowing
down?", "Have you ever tucked your kid in from a phone booth?" (!!!)
and stating assuredly: "YOU WILL"
These advertisements promise interactive marvels that will allow you
to see where the hell you are when you are driving your car, to send
faxes while you are on the beach or to pick your seats for a concert
interactively, all this with astounding 3d-views and graphics than not
even the most expensive PC computers can produce, and yes, AT&T
promises this will happen (they do not dare say how soon!); while more
than half of the world's population lives in increasing poverty levels
and can barely afford a TV set!
Every month I see the new Multimedia products and promises about real
time video and other 'it-looks-great-in-reviews products', while some
of us still wait for a decent computer operating system and the
commercial acceptance of a computer programming language not created
by idiots.
I see news about revolutionary interactive TV and other wonders like
500 television channels and digital radio cable stations filled with
everything for everyone. Yet most of the 30+ TV channels and endless
radio stations are filled with garbage and infomercials now!
But why not review a few facts relevant to the up and coming
techno-revolution-in-the-making?
-Most of America sits home and rots in front of an analog TV an
average of five hours a day watching programs of high educational
content like 'Geraldo,' 'Current Affair' or 'Hard Copy' while the FCC
is still deciding the successor of our millenarian TV technology.
-Most people still cannot even program a VCR, and according to a
survey done by Dell: A majority of Americans are technologically
disabled (read: _techno-wimps_).
-America spends more money on its educational system than any other
nation in the world yet most young Americans are functionally
illiterate.
-Most of the PhD's graduated by our universities are not American but
of foreign origin: (Read: American students don't take advantage of
their educational facilities)
-Public Radio and Public Television, agencies which offer undoubtably
the best variety and quality of educational and entertainment programs
are far from striving, in fact they could be considered as dieing
ideas in the face of technological marvels to come.
-Recently, the National Science Foundation's ban on the commercial use
of the Internet was over.
To predict the future of the much-hyped techno-revolution all we have
to do is to look back a few decades ago and see the changes that one
technological landmark, television, has wrought.
Has television, a possible source of endless educational materials,
and tool to advance us in the right direction, brought all benefits to
everyone?
Hardly. Instead of a wonderful tool, it became another method for the
corporate world to sell its products and agendas, another way for the
government to spoon-feed its citizens with mindless, easy
entertainment, while filtering out "dangerous" ideas and information
while embedding hate for liberals and foreign ideas.
History will repeat itself: The corporate world will rule the new
"revolution." The usual fare of idiocy, sex and violence will take
over all new media, and the users will remain as imbecilic as ever,
while in the background pseudo-revolutionaries conduct make believe
wars against the hand that feeds them, and corporate sponsored
magazines bring unknowing fools the latest in irrelevant false
techno-anarchists (read:hackers) in an entertaining manner.
The mediums may change but the content will remain the same.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 13:33:16 EST
From: EVFW91A@PRODIGY.COM(MR DAVID W BATTERSON)
Subject: File 5--New AIDS BBS
CAM - Computerized AIDS Ministries BBS Network
by David Batterson
NEW YORK--The Computerized AIDS Ministries (CAM) Resource Network is a
BBS that has been attracting a broad cross-section of people among its
300 plus users. CAM BBS provides a medium through which people may
obtain current information and resources to assist in ministering to
persons impacted by HIV disease.
CAM also provides services that help those engaged in HIV/AIDS
medical treatment, caregiving, education and counseling to interact
with one another, thus providing mutual support and interchange of
ideas and methods. The board is a friendly and warm gathering of
diverse people brought together into cyberspace by the nefarious
specter of AIDS.
The CAM Network is run by the health and welfare ministries
program of the general board of global ministries at the United
Methodist Church headquarters, New York. However, persons of all
religious faiths (or none) are welcome on the BBS, and there is no
proselytizing of the "unfaithful" by other BBS users.
Charles Carnahan is executive director of the church's HIV/AIDS
ministries. CAM's sysop is Nancy Carter.
Carter provided some calling statistics for CAM. "Right now we
have 318 accounts," she said. "Unused accounts age off after 60 days.
We have 249 males and 69 females; we have teens on up."
As for calling frequency, the CAM board stays busy. "To date, we
have had 23,000 calls, Carter said. Usually we have more than 100
calls a day. This month average hours of use per day has been 17-18.
It has been as high as 22 but went lower when we introduced QWK mail,
and folks started to use offline readers."
On CAM, a gay, white, leatherman atheist in Los Angeles might
find himself exchanging thoughts and feelings with a married,
heterosexual, female PWA-caregiver in the South. And it works.
The BBS has a wealth of AIDS/HIV information files in its
library, which grow daily. Many of these information resources have
been shared with CAM by persons involved in the AIDS struggle,
including health professionals.
CAM also gets AIDS information files from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), such as "CDC AIDS Daily
Summaries," "Effectiveness of Drugs for CMV and MAC," "Q&As Often
Heard on the CDC Hotline," "AIDS and Injection Drug Use," "Use of AZT
with Persons Newly Infected" and "Vaccine Trials for HIV."
Other files run the gamut, with titles including "WHO Global AIDS
Statistics," "World AIDS Day Logo-PCX file," "Nutrition and HIV
Bibliography," "Traditional Herbal Remedies," "Lesbians & AIDS Study,"
and "HIV/AIDS and the Churches' Response."
The board will soon be tied in with the AIDS Education and
General Information Service (AEGIS), a network that supplies BBSs
across the U.S. and in other countries with its thousands of files.
Boards that join AEGIS must provide free access to information, and
permit callers to use anonymous handles.
Use of the CAM BBS is free, but they welcome donations. Donated
funds help pay for CAM's costs--running over $75 thousand a year--and
continue making a free BBS available for those who could not otherwise
afford to use it.
You can access CAM via one of two numbers: (212) 870-3953 or
(800) 542-5921. Using the first number saves the program money, which
it needs to maintain the toll-free 800 number for those who can't
afford to call long distance.
Any speed up to 9600 bits per second (bps) may be used; there
will soon be support for 14.4K bps modems.
When you call CAM, you enter a system that's all menu driven.
First-time users are asked to identify themselves, and answer a few
questions. The CAM sysop will send a full manual of operating
instructions to first-time users.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 10:23:10 PST
From: ross@QCKTRN.COM( Gary Ross )
Subject: File 6--1994-01-26 Notice of NII Advisory Council Open Meeting
Date--Fri, 28 Jan 1994 12:25-0500
From--The White House <uunet!compuserve.com!75300.3115>
Subject--1994-01-26 Notice of NII Advisory Council Open Meeting
Federal Register/Vol. 59, No. 17/January 26, 1993/pp. 3758
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
ADVISORY COUNCIL ON THE NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE
Notice of Open Meeting
AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA).
ACTION: Notice is hereby given of the first meeting of the
Advisory Council on the National Information Infrastructure,
created pursuant to Executive Order 12864, as amended.
SUMMARY: The President established the Advisory Council on the
National Information Infrastructure (NII) to advise the Secretary
of Commerce on matters related to the development of the NII. In
addition, the Council shall advise the Secretary on a national
strategy for promoting the development of a NII. The NII will
result from the integration of hardware, software, and skills
that will make it easy and affordable to connect people, through
the use of communication and information technology, with each
other and with a vast array of services and information
resources. Within the Department of Commerce, the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration has been
designated to provide secretariat services for the Council.
AUTHORITY: Executive Order 12864, signed by President Clinton on
September 15, 1993, and amended on December 30, 1993.
DATE: The meeting will be held on Thursday, February 10, 1994,
from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.
ADDRESS: The meeting will take place in the Indian Treaty Room
at the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB), Room 474; 17th St.
and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.; Washington, D.C. 20500. The
Pennsylvania Avenue entrance to the OEOB should be used.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Sarah Maloney, Designated
Federal Official for the National Information Infrastructure
Advisory Council and Chief, Policy Coordination Division at the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA); U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 4625; 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, N.W.; Washington, D.C. 20230. Telephone:
202-482-1835; Fax: 202-482-0979; E-mail: nii@ntia.doc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Advisory Council was chartered on
January 5, 1994, pursuant to Executive Order 12864, as amended,
to advise the Secretary of Commerce on matters related to the
development of the National Information Infrastructure (NII). In
addition, the Council shall advise the Secretary on a national
strategy for promoting the development of a NII.
AGENDA:
1. Welcoming Remarks by the Vice President and the Secretary of
Commerce
2. Opening Introductions and Remarks by the National
Information Infrastructure Advisory Council Co-Chairs
3. Briefing by the Information Infrastructure Task Force
Committee Chairpersons
4. Open Discussion
5. Administrative Issues
6. Next Meeting Date and Agenda Items
7. Closing Remarks
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: The meeting will be open to the public,
with limited seating available on a first-come, first-served
basis. Interested members of the public who wish to attend the
meeting should provide their full name, date of birth, and social
security number to the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) by fax at 202-482-0979 or
through electronic mail at nii@ntia.doc.gov. This information is
required to satisfy the security regulations for the Old
Executive Office Building and must be provided to NTIA by 5:00
p.m. on Tuesday, February 8, 1994, to allow expeditious entry
into the meeting. Any member of the public may submit written
comments concerning the Council's affairs at any time before or
after the meeting. Comments should be submitted to the
Designated Federal Official at the address listed above. Copies
of the minutes of the Council meetings may be obtained from the
U.S. Department of Commerce Public Reading Room, Room 6204, 14th
Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.; Washington, D.C. 20230;
Telephone 202-482-4115; within 30 days following the meeting.
Date Larry Irving
Assistant Secretary for
Communications and Information
------------------------------
From: Dave Banisar <banisar@WASHOFC.CPSR.ORG>
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 15:59:20 EST
Subject: File 7--Anti-Clipper Petition from CPSRClipper Petition
Clipper Petition
Electronic Petition to Oppose Clipper
Please Distribute Widely
On January 24, many of the nation's leading experts in cryptography
and computer security wrote President Clinton and asked him to
withdraw the Clipper proposal.
The public response to the letter has been extremely favorable,
including coverage in the New York Times and numerous computer and
security trade magazines.
Many people have expressed interest in adding their names to the
letter. In response to these requests, CPSR is organizing an
Internet petition drive to oppose the Clipper proposal. We will
deliver the signed petition to the White House, complete with the
names of all the people who oppose Clipper.
To sign on to the letter, send a message to:
Clipper.petition@cpsr.org
with the message "I oppose Clipper" (no quotes)
You will receive a return message confirming your vote.
Please distribute this announcement so that others may also express
their opposition to the Clipper proposal.
CPSR is a membership-based public interest organization. For
membership information, please email cpsr@cpsr.org. For more
information about Clipper, please consult the CPSR Internet Library -
FTP/WAIS/Gopher CPSR.ORG /cpsr/privacy/crypto/clipper
=====================================================================
The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We are writing to you regarding the "Clipper" escrowed encryption
proposal now under consideration by the White House. We wish to
express our concern about this plan and similar technical standards
that may be proposed for the nation's communications infrastructure.
The current proposal was developed in secret by federal agencies
primarily concerned about electronic surveillance, not privacy
protection. Critical aspects of the plan remain classified and thus
beyond public review.
The private sector and the public have expressed nearly unanimous
opposition to Clipper. In the formal request for comments conducted
by the Department of Commerce last year, less than a handful of
respondents supported the plan. Several hundred opposed it.
If the plan goes forward, commercial firms that hope to develop
new products will face extensive government obstacles. Cryptographers
who wish to develop new privacy enhancing technologies will be
discouraged. Citizens who anticipate that the progress of technology
will enhance personal privacy will find their expectations
unfulfilled.
Some have proposed that Clipper be adopted on a voluntary basis
and suggest that other technical approaches will remain viable. The
government, however, exerts enormous influence in the marketplace, and
the likelihood that competing standards would survive is small. Few
in the user community believe that the proposal would be truly
voluntary.
The Clipper proposal should not be adopted. We believe that if
this proposal and the associated standards go forward, even on a
voluntary basis, privacy protection will be diminished, innovation
will be slowed, government accountability will be lessened, and the
openness necessary to ensure the successful development of the
nation's communications infrastructure will be threatened.
We respectfully ask the White House to withdraw the Clipper
proposal.
------------------------------
End of Computer Underground Digest #6.13
************************************