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SURFPUNK Technical Journal 101
Date: Wed, 8 Dec 93 01:35:59 PST
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From: surfpunk@versant.com (GEHR ANZRF)
To: surfpunk@versant.com (SURFPUNK Technical Journal)
Subject: [surfpunk-0101] FOIA: writing the NSA
[] THE HACKER CRACKDOWN, Bruce Sterling
CYBERPUNK, Katie Hafner and John Markoff
HACKERS, Steven Levy
GIRLS LEAN BACK EVERYWHERE, Edward de Grazia
THE SHOCKWAVE RIDER, John Brunner
NEUROMANCER, William Gibson
(optional)
BURNING CHROME, William Gibson
TRUE NAMES, Vernor Vinge
-- reading list for Mike Godwin's course
"Law, Society, and the Electronic Frontier"
As far as I know, John Gilmore has still been unsuccessful at
convincing a judge to require the NSA to respond to his Freedom Of
Information Requests in a timely, lawful manner. They're supposed to
answer within 10 days, and they've been estimating it'll take them 7
years. So you notice a lot of comment in these letters about following
procedure.
It's not supposed to be hard to file FOIA requests in the USA -- it was
designed to be something any citizen could do, to find out what the
governement is doing with our trust & our money. Somewhere there is a
file telling how to do it ... strick
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
From: gnu@toad.com (John Gilmore)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: FOIA: Cellular Encryption
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 93 13:10:49 -0800
November 23, 1993
Chief, Office of Policy
National Security Agency/Central Security Service
Fort George Meade, MD 20755-6000
ATTN: FOIA request
Reference: CELLULAR ENCRYPTION
Dear Sir or Madam:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act [5
U.S.C. $ 552(a)] on behalf of my client, Mr. John Gilmore.
I write to request a copy of all agency records or portions
thereof, in electronic or other form, which pertain, relate, or refer to
encryption for cellular telephone communications. This request
includes, but is not limited to records about: a standard known as
the Cellular Message Encryption Algorithm ("CMEA"); NSA's
involvement in the development of CMEA; NSA's assessment of
the strengths, weaknesses, and technical features of CMEA;
standards or technologies other than CMEA considered for cellular
telephone communications encryption contacts, conversations,
meetings or communications of any sort involving NSA employees
and persons not employed by NSA regarding cellular telephone
communications encryption.
Mr. Gilmore is informed and believes that NSA employees
have been involved in meetings with persons not employed by
NSA, including persons outside of the U.S. government, about the
CMEA standard, and he specifically asks that you disclose all
agency records of any or all such meetings.
As you know, the FOIA provides that an agency must make
an initial determination of whether to comply with a FOIA request
within ten working days of receiving the request. Your own
regulations provide that R[t]he Chief, Office of Policy, shall notify
the requester of his determination within 10 working days of his
receipt of the request.S [32 C.F.R. $ 299.4(b)].
If the records that you possess were originated or classified
by another organization, I ask that your organization declassify
them (if needed) and release them to me, as provided in the FOIA,
within the statutory time limits. If there is a conflict between the
statutory time limits and some regulation or policy that requires
you refer the records, the statutory requirement takes precedence
over any Executive-branch regulation, policy or practice. As you
know, the FOIA provides that no more than an additional 10
working days be taken for such consultation. 5 U.S.C. $
552(a)(6)(B). If you do refer documents to any other agency, and
they are not provided within the time limits, we intend to litigate on
this point.
We also remind you that the long-standing rule that the
FOIA "makes no distinction between records maintained in manual
and computer storage systems," Yeager v. D.E.A., 678 F.2d 315,
321 (D.C.Cir. 1982), has recently been amplified in Armstrong v.
E.O.P., No 93-5002 (D.C. Cir., Aug. 13, 1993). Any paper print-
outs of electronic records, such as e-mail, must include all
information in the electronic record. Assuming that there would be
no loss of releasable information, such as written comments made
on paper print-outs, we therefore ask you to release all responsive
electronic records in electronic, i.e., machine-readable, form.
As you know, the FOIA provides that even if some
requested material is properly exempted from mandatory
disclosure, all segregable portions must be released. [5 U.S.C. $
552(b)] If any or all material covered by this request is withheld,
please inform me of the specific exemptions that are being claimed,
and mark all deletions to indicate the exemption(s) being claimed
to authorize each individual withholding. If the (b)(3) exemption is
claimed, please indicate the relevant withholding statute(s).
In addition, I ask that your agency exercise its discretion to
release information that may be technically exempt. As you know,
the Attorney General on October 4, 1993, directed that agencies
should administer the FOIA under a presumption of disclosure, and
that information which need not be withheld should not be.
Please do not delay processing because of uncertainty about
the request. I have reasonably described the records sought. If you
have any questions regarding this request, please telephone me at
the above number, and we can discuss your questions.
I also request that fees be waived because Mr. Gilmore is
deemed a media requester by your agency for FOIA purposes.
Should there be any problem in this regard, Mr. Gilmore promises
to pay up to $1000 in fees, and you should therefore begin
processing of this request without fee-related delays.
As provided under the FOIA, I will expect a reply within ten
(10) working days.
Sincerely,
Lee Tien
Attorney at Law
On behalf of Mr.
John Gilmore
________________________________________________________________________
From: gnu@toad.com (John Gilmore)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: NSA FOIA: Public Domain Classified Records
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 93 13:09:27 -0800
November 23, 1993
Chief, Office of Policy
National Security Agency/Central Security Service
Fort George Meade, MD 20755-6000
ATTN: FOIA request
Reference: PUBLIC DOMAIN CLASSIFIED RECORDS
Dear Sir or Madam:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act [5
U.S.C. $ 552(a)] on behalf of my client, Mr. John Gilmore.
I write to request a copy of all agency records or portions
thereof, in electronic or other form, which pertain, relate, or refer to
documents which are formally designated as "classified" by the
U.S. Government but which are known by NSA officials to be
outside direct government control, in the possession of persons not
presently employed by the U.S. government, available to the public
in libraries, or otherwise in the public domain, whether within or
outside the United States.
This request also includes all agency records which were
previously classified but are no longer classified or had their
classification level downgraded if the fact that the records were
outside direct government control, in the possession of persons not
presently employed by the U.S. government, available to the public
in libraries, or otherwise in the public domain, whether within or
outside the United States, was a factor in declassification or
downgrading.
To help you understand the nature of this request, I refer you
to Mr. Gilmore's earlier request for Military Cryptanalysis by
William Friedman and Military Cryptanalytics by Friedman and
Lambros Callimahos. As you know, your agency initially denied
Mr. Gilmore's request for Parts III and IV of the Friedman treatise
on the ground that they were classified, but later released these
records after Mr. Gilmore proved that Parts III and IV were
available to the general public. Mr. Michael Smith, Chief, Office
of Policy, informed the court and Mr. Gilmore that NSA officials
had known for many years that these records had entered the public
domain, but that he himself was unaware of this fact, and thus
chose not to disclose them at the time of Mr. Gilmore's request.
This request is intended to reach any other such records (still
classified) and any records for which downgrading or
declassification was ordered if the presence of the records outside
direct government control was relevant to the downgrading or
declassification determination. Although Mr. Gilmore does not by
this request seek the already-released portions of Military
Cryptanalysis by William Friedman and Military Cryptanalytics by
Friedman and Lambros Callimahos, he does by this request seek
any records that pertain to whether the unreleased portions of Part
III of Military Cryptanalytics by Friedman and Lambros
Callimahos are known by NSA officials to be outside direct
government control, in the possession of persons not presently
employed by the U.S. government, available to the public in
libraries, or otherwise in the public domain, whether within or
outside the United States.
This request is also intended to trigger declassification
review of all records responsive to this request.
Mr. Gilmore would also like a list of all records responsive
to this request if such a list can be provided in advance of the
records themselves.
As you know, the FOIA provides that an agency must make
an initial determination of whether to comply with a FOIA request
within ten working days of receiving the request. Your own
regulations provide that R[t]he Chief, Office of Policy, shall notify
the requester of his determination within 10 working days of his
receipt of the request.S [32 C.F.R. $ 299.4(b)].
If the records that you possess were originated or classified
by another organization, I ask that your organization declassify
its. If there is a conflict between the
statutory time limits and some regulation or policy that requires
you refer the records, the statutory requirement takes precedence
over any Executive-branch regulation, policy or practice. As you
know, the FOIA provides that no more than an additional 10
working days be taken for such consultation. 5 U.S.C. $
552(a)(6)(B). If you do refer documents to any other agency, and
they are not provided within the time limits, we intend to litigate on
this point.
We also remind you that the long-standing rule that the
FOIA "makes no distinction between records maintained in manual
and computer storage systems," Yeager v. D.E.A., 678 F.2d 315,
321 (D.C.Cir. 1982), has recently been amplified in Armstrong v.
E.O.P., No 93-5002 (D.C. Cir., Aug. 13, 1993). Any paper print-
outs of electronic records, such as e-mail, must include all
information in the electronic record. Assuming that there would be
no loss of releasable information, such as written comments made
on paper print-outs, we therefore ask you to release all responsive
electronic records in electronic, i.e., machine-readable, form.
As you know, the FOIA provides that even if some
requested material is properly exempted from mandatory
disclosure, all segregable portions must be released. [5 U.S.C. $
552(b)] If any or all material covered by this request is withheld,
please inform me of the specific exemptions that are being claimed,
and mark all deletions to indicate the exemption(s) being claimed
to authorize each individual withholding. If the (b)(3) exemption is
claimed, please indicate the relevant withholding statute(s).
In addition, I ask that your agency exercise its discretion to
release information that may be technically exempt. As you know,
the Attorney General on October 4, 1993, directed that agencies
should administer the FOIA under a presumption of disclosure, and
that information which need not be withheld should not be.
Please do not delay processing because of uncertainty about
the request. I have reasonably described the records sought. If you
have any questions regarding this request, please telephone me at
the above number, and we can discuss your questions.
I also request that fees be waived because Mr. Gilmore is
deemed a media requester by your agency for FOIA purposes.
Should there be any problem in this regard, Mr. Gilmore promises
to pay up to $1000 in fees, and you should therefore begin
processing of this request without fee-related delays.
As provided under the FOIA, I will expect a reply within ten
(10) working days.
Sincerely,
Lee Tien
Attorney at Law
On behalf of Mr.
John Gilmore
________________________________________________________________________
From: gnu@toad.com (John Gilmore)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: FOIA: Released Records
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 93 13:10:22 -0800
November 22, 1993
Chief, Office of Policy
National Security Agency/Central Security Service
Fort George Meade, MD 20755-6000
Reference: RELEASED RECORDS
Dear Sir or Madam:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act [5
U.S.C. $ 552(a)] on behalf of my client, Mr. John Gilmore.
I write to request a copy of all agency records or portions
thereof, in electronic or other form, which NSA has declassified
during the months of September and October 1993. This request
specifically excludes any information already provided to Mr.
Gilmore in any other request.
We also remind you that the long-standing rule that the
FOIA "makes no distinction between records maintained in manual
and computer storage systems," Yeager v. D.E.A., 678 F.2d 315,
321 (D.C.Cir. 1982), has recently been amplified in Armstrong v.
E.O.P., No 93-5002 (D.C. Cir., Aug. 13, 1993). Any paper print-
outs of electronic records, such as e-mail, must include all
information in the electronic record. Assuming that there would be
no loss of releasable information, such as written comments made
on paper print-outs, we therefore ask you to release all responsive
electronic records in electronic, i.e., machine-readable, form.
Mr. Gilmore would also like a list of all records responsive
to this request if such a list can be provided in advance of the
records themselves.
As you know, the FOIA provides that an agency must make
an initial determination of whether to comply with a FOIA request
within ten working days of receiving the request. Your own
regulations provide that R[t]he Chief, Office of Policy, shall notify
the requester of his determination within 10 working days of his
receipt of the request.S [32 C.F.R. $ 299.4(b)].
Please do not delay processing because of uncertainty about
the request. I have reasonably described the records sought. If you
have any questions regarding this request, please telephone me at
the above number, and we can discuss your questions.
I also request that fees be waived because Mr. Gilmore is
deemed a media requester by your agency for FOIA purposes.
Should there be any problem in this regard, Mr. Gilmore promises
to pay up to $1000 in fees, and you should therefore begin
processing of this request without fee-related delays.
As provided under the FOIA, I will expect a reply within ten
(10) working days.
Sincerely,
Lee Tien
Attorney at Law
On behalf of Mr.
John Gilmore
________________________________________________________________________
From: gnu@toad.com (John Gilmore)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: FOIA: Sensor fusion
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 93 13:11:31 -0800
November 22, 1993
Chief, Office of Policy
National Security Agency/Central Security Service
Fort George Meade, MD 20755-6000
Reference: SENSOR FUSION
Dear Sir or Madam:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act [5
U.S.C. $ 552(a)] on behalf of my client, Mr. John Gilmore.
I write to request a copy of all agency records or portions
thereof, in electronic or other form, which pertain, relate, or refer to
sensor fusion. "Sensor fusion" is the activity or process of "fusing"
or merging information from a variety of different sensors to
produce a more informative product. For instance, merging radar
data with intercepted radio transmissions and adding in satellite
pictures may reveal a concentration of metal (from radar data) that
coincides with a site that is transmitting communications.
This request includes, but is not limited to: electronic
records such as software for performing sensor fusion; all
documentation for such software; documentation about equipment
used for sensor fusion; and records about agency use of sensor
fusion.
If the requested records are not in the possession of your
agency, or if other agencies may also possess such records, I ask
that you forward this request to any agency that you believe may
have records responsive to this request, and inform me of such
action. Such agencies may include the NRO and the CIA. In the
alternative, I ask that you inform me of other agencies that you
believe possess and control such records.
As you know, the FOIA provides that an agency must make
an initial determination of whether to comply with a FOIA request
within ten working days of receiving the request. Your own
regulations provide that R[t]he Chief, Office of Policy, shall notify
the requester of his determination within 10 working days of his
receipt of the request.S [32 C.F.R. $ 299.4(b)].
If the records that you possess were originated or classified
by another organization, I ask that your organization declassify
them (if needed) and release them to me, as provided in the FOIA,
within the statutory time limits. If there is a conflict between the
statutory time limits and some regulation or policy that requires
you refer the records, the statutory requirement takes precedence
over any Executive-branch regulation, policy or practice. As you
know, the FOIA provides that no more than an additional 10
working days be taken for such consultation. 5 U.S.C. $
552(a)(6)(B). If you do refer documents to any other agency, and
they are not provided within the time limits, we intend to litigate on
this point.
We also remind you that the long-standing rule that the
FOIA "makes no distinction between records maintained in manual
and computer storage systems," Yeager v. D.E.A., 678 F.2d 315,
321 (D.C.Cir. 1982), has recently been amplified in Armstrong v.
E.O.P., No 93-5002 (D.C. Cir., Aug. 13, 1993). Any paper print-
outs of electronic records, such as e-mail, must include all
information in the electronic record. Assuming that there would be
no loss of releasable information, such as written comments made
on paper print-outs, we therefore ask you to release all responsive
electronic records in electronic, i.e., machine-readable, form.
As you know, the FOIA provides that even if some
requested material is properly exempted from mandatory
disclosure, all segregable portions must be released. [5 U.S.C. $
552(b)] If any or all material covered by this request is withheld,
please inform me of the specific exemptions that are being claimed,
and mark all deletions to indicate the exemption(s) being claimed
to authorize each individual withholding. If the (b)(3) exemption is
claimed, please indicate the relevant withholding statute(s).
In addition, I ask that your agency exercise its discretion to
release information that may be technically exempt. As you know,
the Attorney General on October 4, 1993, directed that agencies
should administer the FOIA under a presumption of disclosure, and
that information which need not be withheld should not be.
Please do not delay processing because of uncertainty about
the request. I have reasonably described the records sought. If you
have any questions regarding this request, please telephone me at
the above number, and we can discuss your questions.
I also request that fees be waived because Mr. Gilmore is
deemed a media requester by your agency for FOIA purposes.
Should there be any problem in this regard, Mr. Gilmore promises
to pay up to $1000 in fees, and you should therefore begin
processing of this request without fee-related delays.
As provided under the FOIA, I will expect a reply within ten
(10) working days.
Sincerely,
Lee Tien
Attorney at Law
On behalf of Mr.
John Gilmore
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
The SURFPUNK Technical Journal is a dangerous multinational hacker zine
originating near BARRNET in the fashionable western arm of the northern
California matrix. Quantum Californians appear in one of two states,
spin surf or spin punk. Undetected, we are both, or might be neither.
________________________________________________________________________
Send postings to <surfpunk@versant.com>,
subscription requests to <surfpunk-request@versant.com>.
WWW Archive at ``http://www.acns.nwu.edu/surfpunk/''. [temp down]
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
From: gp310ad@prism.gatech.EDU (ROBERT DUCKWORTH)
Newsgroups: misc.forsale.computers,sci.electronics
Subject: CRAY XMP-2. 32MW. etc etc. Must go, best offer.
Hi-
Fred and I were relaxing after work and discussing a
surplus CRAY XMP-2 we had seen for sale (by sealed
bid). We were feeling pretty good and decided to put
in a bid.
Well, we won.
Now we have to decide what to do with the machine.
Ideally we'd like to find someone who can put it to
use and make a decision and move it within the next 30
days. It is presently installed and working and may
even still be under maintanence.
Otherwise, I have a place to set it up but will have
to install 3 phase power.
The machine has 32MW main memory, 32MW disk buffer,
and 7gig or so of disk space. It's complete with power
conditioning and cooling equipment.
If anyone is interested in parts only, I'd like to
keep the cabinet, and cooling system.
We've done some crazy things before but this may take
the cake (excepting some of that teen years stuff
where one is immortal).
-bob
