Cryptography Reference
In-Depth Information
It would be really hot in those robes under the lights, but I could
see you getting a good share of the daytime audience. You would be
different.
Anon:
My topic, though, is really showing the path toward a rev-
olution. It names names. It shows how themoney flows. It
shows which politicians are part of the network. It shows
which media conglomerates turn out cheerful pabulum
and “mind candy” to keep everyone somnolescent.
Host:
Whoa! Big word there. Speaking of big words, don't you
find “Anonymous” to be a bit long? Do you go by “Anon”?
Does it make you uncomfortable if I call you “Anon”? Or
should I call you “Dr. Anon”?
Anon:
Either's fine. I'm not vain.
Host:
I should say not. Imagine not putting your name on a
topic as thick as this one. Speaking of vain, are you into
horse racing? I wanted to ask you if you were the person
in that Carly Simon song, “You're so vain, you probably
think this song is about you.” She
never
told anyone who
itwasabout.Ithoughtitmightbeyou.Thewholesecrecy
thing and all.
10.2 Anonymous Remailers
There are many reasons why people would want to write letters or
communiques without attaching their names. Some people search
for counseling through anonymous suicide prevention centers. Other
people want to inquire about jobs without jeopardizing their own.
Then there are the times that try our souls and drive us to write long,
half-mad screeds that ring with the truth that the people in power
don't want to hear. These are just a few of the reasons to send infor-
mation anonymously. Even a high government official who is help-
ing to plan the government's approach to cracking down on cryptog-
raphy and imposing key escrow admitted to me over lunch that he or
she has used pay phones from time to time. Just for the anonymity.
Much of what we do, or did in the past, is largely anonymous.
Keeping track of who did what when is a waste of time. People only
recorded data that made sense and the rest was quickly forgotten
providing a cloud of forgiveness that covered the past.
On the Internet,
anonymous remailers
are one solution for letting
people communicate anonymously. These mail programs accept in-
coming mail with a new address and some text for the body of the
letter. They strip off the incoming header that contains the real iden-
tity of the sender and remail the content to the new address. The re-
