Camera/shy

Discussion in 'privacy general' started by Jooske, Jul 5, 2002.

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  1. Jooske

    Jooske Registered Member

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    Alternative to steganography
    http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992506
    An international group of "hacktivists" says it is about to release a computer program designed to let political dissidents communicate via the internet without fear of government eavesdropping.

    Hacktivismo, an international group of programmers and activists, says the program, named Camera/Shy, will make it simple to bury encrypted information in innocuous-looking images that can then be shared over the internet. Those with the same program will then be able to automatically detect and extract concealed information.

    The "hacktivists" are to release their new program on July 13 during the computer security convention H2K2 in New York City.
    The hacktivismo group is sponsored by the US computer hacker group Cult of the Dead Cow, which has previewed another program designed to beat government surveillance, called Peek-a-booty.

    Read full article at URL above.
    The USA government really forces people to defend their communication in many ways, not just dissidents.
    Think in general in business and all kinds of projects which don't need peeking eyes.
     
  2. controler

    controler Guest

    The hidding info in pictures is old but to encrypt the info first is cool
    This is a nice articloe Jooske atagirl :)

    Hidding info in streaming video ,, very very interesting
     
  3. Prince_Serendip

    Prince_Serendip Registered Member

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    Couldn't read it. The site is down. It seems that they may have reinvented microfilm, combined with putting messages in bottles to be added to a holographic stream. Actually, a very good idea! :D
     
  4. Rickster

    Rickster Guest

    At least their hearts are in the right place. Great for masking correspondence from you and I, but useless as an end-around tactic from the government they seek to elude. First, images are sifted just as easily as any other form of transmission. Second, all transmissions have a point of origin and destination, so eventually become unable to elude sifting. Third, the net is more easily subject to infiltration. Such movements are good, but need strict counter-intelligence disciplines. Traffic must run only between long known and highly trusted sources, using unique non-sequential algorithms to make sense of encoded pointers only, not true word values. In a sense, the method will be sloppy from a counter intelligence view and actually make it easier for government technology to find, sort, profile and monitor dissidents and advocates.

    The best method for true non-conformists and dissidents has been and always will be like any other effective underground movement, i.e., circa WWII Nazi resistance or behind the Iron Curtain where the only thing known about it, is it’s existence – not how they communicate. If it were “developed” for the right people for the right reason, we’d never know about it. Rendering the method compromised and suspect on that basis.
     
  5. Jooske

    Jooske Registered Member

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    There are many more initiatives. Google for m-o-o-t for instance. There are so many ways to use the encrypted message in a bottle and directing them. It depends on if your receivers and senders are anonimous or part of a network or whatever to choose the technology.
    Think many have practised with the stegano as the tools are free d/l, this C/s has some other reasons for use.
    How about this one:
    i type a message and change text color to white.
    (encrypted or not)
    make it a screenshot in jpg or gif.
    in another email use that as a background or include it as an image or attachment to my signature.
    No steg needed that way, does it?
     
  6. spy1

    spy1 Registered Member

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    Not sure if I totally follow what you're saying there Jooske, but the changing-it-to-white thing fails when previewed in something like MailWasher - the text shows up. Pete
     
  7. Jooske

    Jooske Registered Member

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    Also with a white background and made to an image, jpg for instance, encrypted?
    Who would take the trouble to look in all sources when used in web pages?
     
  8. Rickster

    Rickster Guest

    Well, it’s not so much a matter of looking in all sources for something. Everything comprising the data stream is filtered at a mathematical level. Let’s say your background represents particles of flour, word values (encrypted or not) represent grains of salt in the flour and image values are gains of sugar - all the same color but, kinds of data. Visibility and retrieval mechanics are inconsequential. As flour pours through the pipeline, sifting the transmission identifies all the particles of flour, salt, sugar and their programmed relationship. Encrypting is nice but draws attention. Since all known encryption except pointers can be cracked at the government level, it’s merely best to use coding unique only to those individuals IMHO. Not really something that can be bought and sold, though pointer methods are emerging for internal application. Nothing wrong with the methods being discussed, but calls for ensuring each particle of salt has absolutely no actual or mathematical relationship to the other particles of salt. I just wouldn’t want dissidents to get a false sense of security because they can visibly hide things, or using conventional encryption for that matter.
     
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