[107427] in Cypherpunks
Re: Suggestion for Public Echelon counter-measures
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jukka E Isosaari)
Wed Jan 13 20:27:33 1999
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 04:02:46 +0200 (EET)
From: Jukka E Isosaari <jei@zor.hut.fi>
cc: cypherpunks@toad.com, ukcrypto@maillist.ox.ac.uk
In-Reply-To: <199901090130.CAA05053@replay.com>
Reply-To: Jukka E Isosaari <jei@zor.hut.fi>
On Sat, 9 Jan 1999, Anonymous wrote:
> > HOW TO COUNTER AND RENDER THE ECHELON OVERSIGTH SYSTEM USELESS:
> >
> > Everyone, from this day on:
> >
> > [various measures to introduce annoyance messages into the system]
>
> This has been proposed several times, under various names. A CP archive search
> for "tagomatic" may produce relevant results.
>
> The problem in creating such a system is that it has to do more than simply
> generate many messages, calls, etc. with "flagged" keywords; it must actually
> produce a very, very large volume of messages which it is not feasible to make
> computers distinguish from something which would really interest the
> intelligence community. I think AI came up in the tagomatic thread, but even a
> fancy cutting-edge AI-based scheme may not work.
>
> You have to discard the assumption that SIGINT agencies could not change
> ECHELON to ignore annoyance messages. Any solution to the problems ECHELON
> makes involving flooding the intercept bin with false alarms is going to have
> to use very tricky methods to do so. Better solutions might involve emptying
> the intercept bin of valid alarms by, say, applying crypto or ending the whole
> travesty with some sort of political miracle. Not that that's any easier.
>
> Also, the assumption that millions of people will join your effort seems kinda
> absurd.
All very true. Also it would have to be continued forever.
But how does one legally 'fight' the Big Brother, if you can't
and use commercial crypto, since it "must all be decryptable",
or you can't legally use any crypto at all?
I don't see many other ways to get the Echelon dismantled and
stop the US spying on it's allies for economic and scientific
benefit; not if you wish to stick to the law. I doubt they are
going to stop, now that it is considered public knowledge, even
if we asked them nicely to stop it and go away.
But, you're absolutely right, this idea isn't of much use,
unless one wishes to use it for fighting an information war.
I.e. assume the opposition is monitoring traffic, and launch
a barrage of terrorist viral attack plans or `I'm gonna kill
the president` -messages, that serve to draw the attention
and resources away from the real attack.
Identifying the real threat would become more difficult,
and if sustained, possible real alerts might even be ignored
in the future.
...
Another idea that spawned on me on the theme of alternative
ways of fighting wars...
The new Euro currency plates or holograms (can't remember which)
were stolen, as I remember?
What would be the effect, if, for example US, would print a
10-100 billion Euros and use them to sponsor their allies covertly?
The support might come with requests to buy only US goods.
In the economical war between EU and US, as some people refer
to it, wouldn't EU suffer enormously in the form of inflation
and devaluation of it's currency, as at the same time US and
it's allies would benefit immensely?
IMO, the US single-mindedness on money and spying even on allies for
economic and scientific benefit, would only be nicely complemented by
destroying the threatening economies, for example Japanese economy, by
printing a few billions of extra Yens and spreading them around causing
the said economy to collapse.
Can someone tell me how this would or woudn't work?
Has this method been used by anyone in previous wars?
(Any pointers on monetary warfare appreciated.)
++ J
