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The following archive was created by hippie-mail 7.98617-22 on Fri Aug 21 1998 - 17:18:45 ADT
Broitman, Jeff (Jeff.Broitman@GSC.GTE.Com)
Fri, 19 Jun 1998 16:15:31 -0400
Simple: Purchase it in the name of CodherPlunks. (does it say groups can't
participate?)
___________
Jeff Broitman
Unix S.A.
GTE - Cybertrust Solutions Inc.
mailto:jeff.broitman@gsc.gte.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Kathleen Ellis [mailto:ellis@epic.org]
Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 3:22 PM
To: CodherPlunks@toad.com
Subject: Meganet Challenge
In order to win, the person who cracks the code has to be the person who
purchased and registered the thing originally, then they have to fly to
California and demonstrate to Meganet how they did it. If I go ahead and
buy this stuff, I have to be the one to do it, prove how it was done, etc,
in order for them to acknowledge that there was a winner. Not being a
cryptanalyst, and having no intention of breaking this thing myself, I'm
not confident that I could fake it.
Incidentally, the contest package (which costs $10 and is not exportable)
comes in 3 different versions, one for Win95/NT, one for Win 3.x, and one
for DOS. You also have to pay for shipping; apparently they won't just let
you download the thing.
Here are the contest rules, from http://www.meganet.com/jun98challenge.htm.
They're surprisingly arrogant, given that they can't even properly set up a
secure web server.
-- Challenge Purpose:Meganet Corporation have used multiple high amount challenges in the past to establish our confidence that the VME system is unbreakable. The purposes of this challenge are multiple:
1) To show our continuing backing to our bold claims.
2) To educate and teach VME users how to create unbreakable sessions.
If that sounds contradicting, let's explain:
While the VME algorithm was proven to be unbreakable, an average hacker will not try to compromise the algorithm itself, but rather attack a much simpler angle - the user interface and/or intellegence. The user interface is the application (such as VME98) and not the algorithm (such as VME) - let's say that the user encrypt all his files using a 2 digit number - than a hacker do not need to break VME, he just need to guess which 2 digits the user chose to encrypt the file. Compromising the user intelligence can be achieved by trying to guess if the user used passwords or keywords related to his environment, such as his phone number, SSN, wife or kids name etc.
Therefore, during those challenges, we'll demonstrate during presenting the solutions what are the appropriate ways to use to create unbreakable sessions and how to utilize the absolute power of VME together with the great features of VME98 to create secure encryption sessions.
Who may participate:
Only registered users of VME98. If you bought VME98 not from Meganet Corporation and did not register with us, we will not accept any entry from you (Sorry, we do not wish to see illegal copies of VME98 flooding the marketplace). Also, due to export restrictions we do not have any demo or limited version of VME98. You can order the new Decrypt Only Version for $10 if you just want to participate in the challenge. To purcase VME98 starting at $100, click HERE
Rules and Regulations:
Challenge begin 06/01/98 12:00am Pacific Standard Time.
Challenge Ends: 06/30/98 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time.
ONLY the first to submit the answer to Meganet Corporation will qualify, and will need to prove:
1) That he's a registered owner of VME98
2) Proof of purchase of VME98 prior to the challenge date.
3) Reproduce at Meganet Corporation offices the way in which the solution was achieved.
4) Failure to perform any of the above 3 conditions will void the challenge offer.
How to participate:
1) Download the file jun98.vme (the file is a meaningfull file, NOT binary junk)
2) Try to break it.
3) Got the solution ? email vme@meganet.com
4) If you got it, we'll contact you within 24 hours.
5) No response from us ? you got the wrong answer ! Check the Solution Page for the right solution at month's end.
6) We'll post the file names and passwords at the end of each challenge, so you can check it yourself on your own version of VME98.
Good Luck !
Kathleen M. Ellis Admin. Asst., Electronic Privacy Information Center Voice Mail: (202)298-0833 http://www.epic.org PGP 5.0 Key ID 9bf725b4 65FF B997 62B8 C396 A527 2D6A 4901 F701 9BF7 25B4
The following archive was created by hippie-mail 7.98617-22 on Fri Aug 21 1998 - 17:18:45 ADT