Re: [OT] more from Cryptome on NSA, Windows firewals, mail services

["Eugene Y. Vasserman" <eyv@xxxxxxxxxx>]

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Thus spake Ringo Kamens, on 1/2/2008 8:51 PM:
> A new vista service pack just "upgraded" to that "backdoored" random
> number algorithm. Suit yourself in believing Microsoft.

I'm not defending Microsoft, I'm just trying to see things from both
sides. They're not NECESSARILY adding a back door. The algorithm is
included in a standards document - Microsoft added it because some
customers will ask for it. SP1 also adds AES-GMAC.

Eugene

> Comade Ringo Kamens
> 
> On Jan 2, 2008 9:42 PM, Eugene Y. Vasserman < eyv@xxxxxxxxxx
> <mailto:eyv@xxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
> 
> Thus spake Ringo Kamens, on 1/2/2008 4:17 PM:
>> Also, see http://www.schneier.com/essay-198.html
>> And yeah, I was talking about the NSA key.
> 
> Personally (and god help me), I believe Microsoft when they say the key
> is not a key back door key. If it was, I wonder if they would name it
> "NSA". Or is that what they want us to think? :)
> The Schneier essay about the random number generator is more
> interesting, and worth reading.
> 
> Eugene
> 
>> Comrade Ringo Kamens
> 
>> On Jan 2, 2008 4:24 PM, Nick Mathewson < nickm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> <mailto:nickm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> <mailto:nickm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:nickm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>> wrote:
> 
>>     On Wed, Jan 02, 2008 at 02:47:11PM -0600, Eugene Y. Vasserman
> wrote:
>>     > Thus spake Ringo Kamens on Sun, 23 Dec 2007:
>>     >
>>     > (snip)
>>     > >    Also, we know the NSA and DoJ have engaged in
>>     > >    this type of activity in the past such as "working" with
>>     Microsoft to
>>     > >    secure vista and having their private key inserted into
> windows
>>     > >    versions so they could decrypt things.
>>     >
>>     > I've heard of the Vista bit, but what are you referring to,
> as far as
>>     > having a decryption key for Windows stuff? I know they had
> one in...
>>     > What was it? Lotus Notes?
> 
>>     He's probably referring to the "NSAKey" key in NT 4.  For more
>>     information, see
>>       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nsakey
> 
>>     It's a secondary code-signing key, allegedy to be used if their
>>     primary code signing key needed to be revoked.
> 
>>     If you believe Microsoft, the key was called "_NSAKEY" because
> it was
>>     introduced in order to meet NSA requirements for a secondary key.
>>     Naming things after the software or organization that requires
> them,
>>     rather than after their actual purpose, is not unusual for
> Microsoft:
>>     Their office XML spec is littered with stuff like the notorious
>>     AutoSpaceLikeWord95.
> 
>>     Personally, I don't believe that contemporary operating
> systems are so
>>     secure that the NSA would rather have security holes
> custom-built for
>>     it instead of just using the ones that are already there.
> 
>>     peace,
>>     --
>>     Nick
> 
> 
> 

- --
Eugene Y. Vasserman
Ph.D. Candidate, University of Minnesota
http://www.cs.umn.edu/~eyv/
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