gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore) (01/09/91)
I have been working on a bibliography for the upcoming Computers,
Freedom, and Privacy conference in March. There is some hope of having
some relevant published material available for purchase (both at the
conference and by mail for non-attendees).
This is only half done -- it doesn't even cover my own library yet --
but I figured I had better get it out here for review and for all of you
to send in your own suggestions and reviews. Submissions of all sorts
will be considered -- fiction, nonfiction, legalese, techspeak, layman's,
alarmist, reassuring, whatever. PLEASE EMAIL SUBMISSIONS TO ME,
gnu@toad.com, RATHER THAN POSTING THEM. (If it ends up that I lose or
ignore your suggestion in my next draft, *then* post it. I don't
want to censor you, I just don't want the newsgroup flooded with lots
of duplicate information.)
It's in no particular order yet. Suggestions on that are welcome, too.
If someone wants to convert this to some useful "bibliography software"
form, please do, and send me the software -- I've never used those programs.
The Rise of the Computer State
David Burnham
1980
ISBN 0-394-72375-9 (paperback)
Vintage Books (paperback)
Random House (hardback)
"A chilling account of the computer's threat to society".
Primarily concerns goverment surveillance of private citizens, the
linking of databases about individuals, and the chilling effects
this has on individual freedom of expression and individual
liberty.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Robert Heinlein
Science fiction about how revolutionaries are able to take over
a penal colony on the Moon because they have the help and support
of the computer network that controls all the facilities there.
Orbital Decay
Allen Steele
1989
Ace Books (Berkley Publishing Group, NY)
ISBN 0-441-49851-5
Science fiction about how covert action by a rights-oriented
foundation aborts the secret deployment of the Big Ear, a wideband
satellite receiver and computer complex in orbit that allows the
NSA to scan all private telephone calls, and record and trace
any that the system believes are a "threat to national security".
Hackers
Steven Levy
Dell
ISBN 0-440-13405-6
A chronology of the computer hacker movement from the 1950's
through the early 1980's. The seminal work on the origins and
ethics of "true" computer hacking (as opposed to what the press
has claimed computer hacking is).
The Privacy Journal
PO Box 28577
Providence, RI 02908
$35/yr
An indpendent monthly journal on privacy in a computer age.
"A wonderful source for this stuff" -- major@pta.oz.au
Cryptography and Data Security
Dorothy Denning
Addison-Wesley
1982
ISBN 0-201-10150-5
A good overview of cryptography and of technologies for
protecting data. Chapters: Encryption algorithms, Cryptographic
techniques, Access controls, Information flow controls, Inference
controls. The book's coverage of computer related cryptography
is good but ends in 1983, and much progress has been made since
then.
The Codebreakers
"The story of secret writing"
David Kahn
Macmillan, NY
1967
$49.95 original price
ISBN 0-02-560460-0 (hardback)
The technical, personal, and social history of the making and
breaking of codes and ciphers throughout recorded history.
Focuses particularly on World War I and II cryptography. The
definitive book of on the history of cryptography. NOTE: get
the hardback version, not the paperback; the paperback has had
a lot of the technical details "abridged".
I believe the book is out of print now, but copies can still be
obtained from used book dealers. I bet we would sell five or ten
if we had them at the conference.
Out of the Inner Circle
"A hacker's guide to computer security"
Bill "the Cracker" Landreth
Microsoft Press / Simon and Schuster
1985
ISBN 0-914845-36-5 (paper)
ISBN 0-914854-45-4 (cloth)
$9.95
The inside story of a 16-year-old cracker who was eventually
caught by the FBI for unauthorized use of Telemail. Most of the
book is a good discussion of hacker history, motivations, and
techniques, as well as basic computer security, and what to do
with a cracker if you catch one.
The Hacker's Handbook
"An insider's guide to modems and telecomputing"
Hugo Cornwall
1985
Century Hutchison, UK / E. Arthur Brown, Alexandria MN
A particularly European angle on computer cracking, this is the
Nth-edition of a handbook that had wide underground circulation
to teach young crackers the ethics and techniques of the computer
underground.
The Puzzle Palace
"A report on NSA, America's most secret agency"
James Bamford
1982
ISBN 0-39531286-8 (hardback)
$16.95
Houghton Mifflin, Boston; Penguin
The definitive work on the National Security Agency, the
government agency responsible for monitoring electronic
communications inside the U.S. and all around the world. Traces
the history and activities of this secret "spy" agency whose
charter is even secret and which was used by Nixon to spy on phone
calls of American citizens during Nixon's drug war. This is the
agency that has a monopoly on cryptography in the U.S. and which
constantly acts to limit the ability of the American public to
encrypt their own information for their own privacy. This is
not an "expose'" but a heavily researched and documented work,
now nine years out of date but still quite relevant. -- John Gilmore
The book is an extremely well written history of the National Security
Agency, its predecessors, and its staff starting just before the end
of WW1, going up to 1980. -- Eliot Lear <lear@turbo.bio.net>
Economics of Information Technology
recommended by Bruce Koball <bkoball@well.sf.ca.us>
The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism
Daniel Bell
recommended by Bruce Koball <bkoball@well.sf.ca.us>
The Coming Post-Industrial Society
Daniel Bell
recommended by Bruce Koball <bkoball@well.sf.ca.us>
The Technologies of Control
Kevin Wilson
1988
University of Wisconsin Press
recommended by Bruce Koball <bkoball@well.sf.ca.us>
and by Bob Jacobson <cyberoid@milton.acs.washington.edu>:
"An even better book, or at least one antithetical to Technologies
of Freedom...The last word on how computational systems are
remaking daily life, at work and at home."
???
Edward Hermann
"Any book by Edward Hermann on the press is recommended. His
and Noam Chomsky's new book is scathing." -- Bob Jacobson
Usenix Proceedings
Look up detailed references on the Internet Worm, Tom Duff's
paper on computer security, etc.
Reflections on Trusting Trust
Ken Thompson
ACM Turing Award lecture on computer security reveals the
roots of the problem in "who can you trust". He claims that
you basically have to trust large numbers of people to be able
to work with computers at all, and shows examples.
Law, Legislation and Liberty
Hayek
3 small tomes. Recommended by Phil Salin <uunet!markets!phil>
The Technology of Foolishness
James Marsh & ??? Simon
Recommended by someone at the hackers conference.
Cryptology, Computer Networks, and Big Brother
Tim May
slide presentation
Views privacy and freedom from the point of view of "cryptoanarchy",
in which cryptographic technology provides people the ability to
communicate in privacy, despite the best efforts of governments
to prevent their doing so. Examines technical developments that
led to it, and social possibilities that result from it.
Technological Threats to Civil Liberties
"Notes for IEEE 15th Annual Invitational Microcomputer Workshop"
R. G. Kennedy
McDonnell Douglas Paper No. 8282
25 April 1989
C1-661-RGK3-0389
A survey paper broadly covering technological areas that can
be used to violate civil liberties -- mostly having to do with
computerization of previously un-automated areas, such as stop
signs, traffic tickets, payment systems, luggage searching,
metabolic monitoring, pattern recognition of license plates,
transponder badges, etc.
Computers: Crimes, Clues and Controls
"A Management Guide"
GPO# 008-000-00460-9
$2.50
A simple government manual on computer security. Designed
for consciousness raising among the illiterati; reminds you
to not tell your password to anyone else, and that sort of thing.
Useful as a teaching tool but it won't tell you anything new.
Covers information security, physical security, and personnel
security issues.
Basic Considerations in Investigating and Proving Computer-Related
Federal Crimes
US Department of Justice, Justice Management Division
GPO# 027-000-01323-6
$7.50
"Designed to assist Federal prosecutors and investigators by...
providing a comprehensive text that covers the basic technical
and legal considerations involved in dealing with a
computer-related criminal case." As expected, it takes a very
one-sided view, completely ignoring privacy considerations of
defendents except where courts have thrown out cases as a result.
Its coverage of the ECPA talks about the provisions for the
gov't to force computer service companies to provide secret
copies of backup tapes, but never mentions that it's illegal to
capture someone's email without a specific warrant for it.
In short, useful to show how the prosecutors and agents
have been brainwashed with only half of the information they
need to do their job.
Telecommunications In Crisis
"The First Amendment, technology, and deregulation"
Edwin Diamond and Norman Sandler, and Milton Mueller
Cato Institute, Wash DC
1983
ISBN 0-932790-39-3
A two-part view of telecommunications policy: first, a documentary
of problems in our existing telecommunications regulations,
particularly First Amendment problems. Second, a proposal for
free-market allocation of the radio spectrum rather than government
control of frequency allocations, as a possible solution.
Electronic Record Systems and Individual Privacy
"Federal Government Information Technology"
US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment
OTA-CIT-296
June 1986
GPO# 052-003-01038-1
Report from a study commissioned by Congress. Addresses four
major areas: technological developments related to government
record systems; current and prospective Federal agency use of
electronic record systems; the interaction of technology and
public law relevant to protecting privacy; and possible policy
actions that warrant congressional attention. Covers computer
matching and computer profiling. Good footnotes with lots of
privacy references.
Management, Security, and Congressional Oversight
"Federal Government Information Technology"
US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment
OTA-CIT-???
February 1986
Companion volume to the other two Federal Government Information
Technology books from OTA.
Management, Security, and Congressional Oversight
"Federal Government Information Technology"
US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment
OTA-CIT-???
February 1986
Companion volume to the other two Federal Government Information
Technology books from OTA.
Electronic Surveillance and Civil Liberties
"Federal Government Information Technology"
US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment
OTA-CIT-???
October 1985
Informing the Nation
"Federal Information Dissemination in the Electronic Age"
US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment
OTA-CIT-396
October 1988
GPO@ 052-003-01130-1
$14
Covers many aspects of electronic information dissemination
by the goverment, including the roles of the Government Printing
Office, National Technical Information Service, Depository
Library program, Freedom of Information Act, Congressional
information, and government/press relations.
Critical Connections
"Communications for the Future"
Office of Technology Assessment
recommended by Velu Sinha <velu@ra.src.umd.edu>
Technologies of Freedom
"On free speech in an electronic age"
Ithiel de Sola Pool
Harvard University Press
1983
$10 or so
ISBN 0-674-87233-9
A seminal book on Constitutional rights in electronic media.
Covers the history of electronic media starting with the
telegraph, how freedom of expression and assembly were not
considered in setting up their regulatory structure, and the
implications for current and future electronic media.
Critical reading!
The Problem of Social Cost
Ronald Coase
Journal of Law & Economics
October 1960
also reprinted in many collections of classic articles in law and economics
Recommended by uunet!markets!phil (Phil Salin):
Precisely what are or should be the liabilities of the
owner/operator of an Electronic Assembly Location, or who
otherwise facilitates an Electronic Assembly?
Uncertainty regarding potential liability for making it
possible for the public to assemble and speak/publish freely on
diverse topics may have already affected existing online
service or BBS policies regarding what may be said/not said.
The article's main message is that society is much better off
when it's clear who is liable for the effects of an action than
when nobody knows, i.e., when the responsibility for
consequences of actions is unclear.
The Federal Communications Commission
Ronald Coase
Journal of Law and Economics
October 1959
Recommended by uunet!markets!phil (Phil Salin):
Coase's article on "The Problem of Social Cost" originated from
prior work on another classic article, innocuously titled "The
Federal Communications Commission" (Journal of Law and
Economics, October 1959); this article concludes with a section
directly relevant to many of the issues the conference will be
discussing:
"Mr. William Howard Taft, who was Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court during the critical formative period of
the broadcasting industry, is reported to have said: "I have
always dodged this radio question. I have refused to grant
writs and have told the other justices that I hope to avoid
passing on this subject as long as possible." Pressed to
explain why, he answered:
"...interpreting the law on this subject is something
like trying to interpret the law of the occult. It
seems like dealing with something supernatural. I want to put
it off as long as possible in the hope that it becomes more
understandable before the court passes on the questions
involved."
(Coase continues): It was indeed in the shadows cast by
a mysterious technology that our views on broadcasting
policy were formed. It has been the burden of this article to
show that the problems posed by the broadcasting industry do
not call for any fundamental changes in the legal and economic
arrangements which serve other industries. But the belief that
the broadcasting industry is unique and requires regulation of
a kind which would be unthinkable in the other media of
communication is now so firmly held as perhaps to be beyond the
reach of critical examination. The history of regulation in
the broadcasting industry demonstrates the crucial importance
of events in the early days of a a new development in
determining long-run governmental policy. It also suggests
that lawyers and economists should not be so overwhelmed by the
emergence of new technologies as to change the existing legal
and economic system without first making quite certain that
this is required."
???
George Hilton
Recommended by uunet!markets!phil (Phil Salin):
In the late 19th century, there were many towns which were
served by only one railroad, and not servable by boats (inland)
or motor-trucks (not invented yet). People in those towns had
legitimate reasons to be fearful of the enormous power of the
only railroad in town. This was a huge political issue at the
time, and rightly so. A lot of people living in such towns
translated into a lot of political power, which, combined with
the usual political incentives and some errors in economic
theorizing led to unfortunate but understandable results: heavy
regulation of railroads, and the premature decline of the
railroad industry. (Cf George Hilton for details).
...Part of the issue here has to do with what I hope and expect
will be a rich set of experiments by emerging electronic
communities to set different kinds of policies regarding
membership, rights, and responsibilities of members. Common
carrier law was evolved to deal with a completely different set
of issues, most of which do NOT apply in an electronic
environment. (For example, most traditional monopolies emerged
in settings where the nearest competitor was several
hours/days/weeks' journey away; in an electronic world, the
nearest competitor will normally be a few keystrokes away...).
Privacy in America
David F. Linowes
University of Illinois Press
1989
Recommended by uunet!markets!phil (Phil Salin):
Linowes is a Professor and former chairman of the U.S. Privacy
Protection Commission. You're probably already familiar with
him and with this book, but in case you're not, I recommend it
for lots of interesting detail, for example:
page 82: "At last count, in 1982, there were 3,530
million personal files on people in all federal
agencies, or an average of 15 files for every man, woman, and
child in America."
page 77: "When a police officer was shot and killed
outside a prominent New York restaurant...police
consulted American Express. In less than half a day the police
were supplied with a list of twenty persons who had dined in
the restaurant that night and had paid for their meals with
credit cards."
page 84: "The government has begun installing computers
that keep detailed records of telephone calls made by
federal employees. The new computers record local and long
distance calls, detailing the date of the call, length of the
call, the call's origin, and the call's destination."
page 158/159: "According to Irwin Blye, head of a New
York City-based investigative firm, "privacy is an
absolute myth"... Challenged to prove his contention that,
given a little time and his usual fee, he could learn all about
an individual without even speaking with him, Blye was
presented with a subject--a New Jersey newspaperman--and his
regular several-hundred-dollar-fee to perform a standard
background investigation. The result was a five-page,
single-spaced, typed report which documented, though not always
accurately, a wide sweep of the journalist's past, and was
detailed to the point of disclosing his father's income before
his retirement... Recently, he has been able to obtain bank
records simply by calling a bank employee and requesting the
information...by dialing a number slightly different than the
bank's main switchboard number and "sounding knowledgeable" he
can easily persuade bank employees to give out customers'
personal data."
Comment, Computer Bulletin Board Operator Liability for User Misuse
54 Fordham Law Revew 439
1985
Recommended by Mike.Riddle@f27.n285.z1.fidonet.org (Mike Riddle):
[These] law review articles ... all touch on issues related to
recent inquiries about system operator liability and privilege
occasioned by recent law enforcement activities.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it's pretty good,
and will give any interested party a starting point for further
research.
While oriented toward Bulletin Board Systems, the analysis
provided would appear to fit larger applications, such as this
newsgroup. When reading them, remember that three were written
before the ECPA was enacted, and that there has been little
reported litigation involving the ECPA. In legal terms, the
law is "unsettled."
Comment, An Electronic Soapbox: Computer Bulletin Boards and the First
Amendment
Eric C. Jensen
39 Federal Communications Law Journal 217
1987
Recommended by Mike.Riddle@f27.n285.z1.fidonet.org (Mike Riddle):
see above.
ECPA and Online Computer Privacy
Hernandez
41 Federal Communications Law Journal 17
1989
Recommended by Mike.Riddle@f27.n285.z1.fidonet.org (Mike Riddle):
see above.
Legal Analysis of Electronic Bulletin Board Activities
Soma, Smith & Sprague
7 W. New England L. Rev. 571
1985
Recommended by Mike.Riddle@f27.n285.z1.fidonet.org (Mike Riddle):
see above.
--
John Gilmore {sun,pacbell,uunet,pyramid}!hoptoad!gnu gnu@toad.com
Just say no to thugs. The ones who lock up innocent drug users come to mind.