Cryptography-Digest Digest #861, Volume #10 Fri, 7 Jan 00 11:13:01 EST
Contents:
Interview with an ECHELON Spy ("http://www.hyperreal.art.pl/cypher/remailer/")
Re: Identifier anonymization (Al Wang)
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Date: 7 Jan 2000 15:46:47 -0000
From: "http://www.hyperreal.art.pl/cypher/remailer/" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Interview with an ECHELON Spy
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Hello A couple of months ago I promised that I would have some articles
translated that I and my colleague Kenan Seeberg has written since june
about the Echelon network, the UKUSA pact and danish participation herein
as third party-member of the pact. We have written approx. 50 articles
(Something like that, anyway), and have been very busy, so translation has
been moving at a crawl. Anyway, things should start to shape up, so the
first articles should be online within the next few weeks. We plan to put
up the whole show on our papers website soon. Pictures, interviews,
documents etc. Most of it will remain in danish though.
Meanwhile, the danish parliament discussed Echelon SIGINT and surveillance
two weeks ago. They all agreed that danish citizens communications are
intercepted on a regular basis - but they also agreed that they would
_not_ start any examinations of the interceptions. For fear of disturbing
our allies, it seems.
Copies of the debate are available online - in danish - at the parliaments
own website www.folketinget.dk. I will pick out links and post them later.
On a side note the parliament agreed that strong free crypto is the only
means of protection against these kinds of interception. There will be a
hearing in Copenhagen about how strong unregulated encryption should be
made available to the danish people.
No need to be too optimistic though, as there are opposing trends within
government on the subject of unreguleated unbreakable encryption.
I will post all translated articles here, as I get them. They will be long.
Please bear with any inconveniences.
Regards
Bo Elkjaer, Denmark
ECHELON WAS MY BABY
Ekstra Bladet meets former Echelon spy. In spite of illness and angst, she
now reveals how illegal political surveillance was carried out.
by Bo Elkjr and Kenan Seeberg. Photos: Martin Lepee
LAS VEGAS (Ekstra Bladet): "Even though I felt bad about what we were
doing, I was very pleased with the professional part of my job. I don't
mean to brag, but I was very good at what I did, and I actually felt like
Echelon was my baby."
Ekstra Bladet meets Margaret Newsham in her home in a sleepy Las
Vegas suburb. For obvious reasons we are omitting the name of the town
where Margaret Newsham is trying to lead a normal life. She has never
mentioned her past to her neighbors.
A past in which Margaret Newsham has been in close contact with
the very core of the most secretive world of all worlds.
Margaret Newsham helped build the electronic surveillance system
known as Echelon.
Today she has broken off connection with the world of espionage
and lives in constant fear that "certain elements" in the NSA or CIA will
try to silence her. As a result, she sleeps with a loaded pistol under her
mattress, and her best friend is Mr. Gunther - a 120-pound German shepherd
that was trained to be a guard and attack dog by a good friend in the
Nevada State Police.
She sent the dog to a babysitter before we arrived, since "he
doesn't let strangers come in to my house," she says with a faint smile.
Only once before has Newsham told anybody about her work as an
Echelon spy: during closed, top-secret hearings held by the US Congress in
1988. Today, Margaret breaks eleven years of silence by telling the press
for the very first time about her work for the most extensive espionage
network in the world. Margaret Newsham decided to talk with Ekstra Bladet
even though her doctor advised her not to meet with us. "Since I have high
blood pressure, my doctor thinks it's risky for me to talk with you, but
it's a chance I"m willing to take."
DEATH SENTENCE
Newsham has gone through hell ever since she was fired from her
job at Lockheed Martin where she designed programs for Echelon's global
surveillance network. When asked to work on a project in 1984, she refused
because she believed it could harm the US government.
Shortly after, Echelon's wirepullers in the National Security
Agency (NSA) made sure that she was fired by Lockheed Martin. Immediately
afterward, she sued her former employer for wrongful dismissal and
contacted the internal security commission, DCAA, which arranged the
closed hearings.
"Ever since, I have felt like I was under so much pressure that it
has had a fatal influence on my health," says Margaret Newsham, who up to
now has survived a seizure which left her totally paralyzed. All she had
left was her sense of hearing when she was admitted to the hospital.
"I could hear the doctor pronouncing my death sentence, while my
husband and three children stood by my side. The only thing that kept me
going was the thought that if I died, I would lose my case. That thought
was what brought me back to life."
After regaining her mobility, Newsham suffered a cardiac arrest,
and two years ago she underwent surgery for a malignant tumor. Today, she
dryly states that she is living on borrowed time, which perhaps explains
why she chooses to stand forward at this time.
SPYING ON POLITICIANS
"To me, there are only two issues at stake here: right or wrong.
And the longer I worked on the clandestine surveillance projects, the more
I could see that they were not only illegal, but also unconstitutional."
Margaret Newsham is not pleased with herself for participating in
spying on ordinary people, politicians, interest groups and private
companies, which is exactly what she did for 10 years, from 1974 to 1984.
Both the satellites and the computer programs were developed at
Lockheed's headquarters in Sunnyvale California, and in 1977, she was
stationed at the largest listening post in the world at Menwith Hill,
England.
"On the day at Menwith Hill when I realized in earnest how utterly
wrong it was, I was sitting with one of the many 'translators'. He was an
expert in languages like Russian, Chinese and Japanese. Suddenly he asked
me if I wanted to listen in on a conversation taking place in the US at an
office in the US Senate Building. Then I clearly heard a southern American
dialect I thought I had heard before."
"Who is that?" I asked the translator who told me that it was
Republican senator Strom Thurmond. "Oh my gosh!" I thought. We"re not only
spying on other countries, but also on our own citizens. That's when I
realized in earnest that what we were doing had nothing to do with
national security interests of the US."
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
In all its complicated simplicity, the American intelligence agency, NSA,
together with intelligence agencies in England, Canada, Australia and New
Zealand, has established a system of satellites and computer systems that
can monitor by and large all electronic communication in the world: phone
conversations, e-mails, telexes and telefaxes. A number of other countries
are affiliated as third or fourth party participants, including Denmark.
The fundamental concept of the system is to get access to all
important political movements in hostile and allied countries alike and to
keep an eye on all important economic movements. Knowledge is power, and
the NSA knows it. Furthermore, NSA's spies function as the only primary
authority to supervise who receives what information and what it is used
for.
"Even then, Echelon was very big and sophisticated. As early as 1979 we
could track a specific person and zoom in on his phone conversation while
he was communicating. Since our satellites could in 1984 film a postage
stamp lying on the ground, it is almost impossible to imagine how
all-encompassing the system must be today."
ECHELON WAS NSA"S IDEA
Who came up with the name Echelon?
"The NSA. Lockheed Martin's alphanumeric code was P415.
What did you actually do?
"Unfortunately, I can't tell you all my duties. I am still bound
by professional secrecy, and I would hate to go to prison or get involved
in any trouble, if you know what I mean. In general, I can tell you thatI
was responsible for compiling the various systems and programs,
configuring the whole thing and making it operational on mainframe computers."
Which part of the system is named Echelon?
"The computer network itself. The software programs are known as
SILKWORTH and SIRE, and one of the most important surveillance satellites
is named VORTEX. It intercepts things like phone conversations."
APPROVED BY THE CIA
You worked as an agent for the NSA, but were employed by a private
company?
"Yes, it is almost impossible to tell the difference between NSA
agents and civilians employed by Lockheed Martin, Ford and IBM. The
borderlines are very vague. I had one of the highest security
classifications which required the approval of the CIA, the NSA, the Navy
and the Air Force. The approval included both a lie detector test, and an
expanded personal history test in which my family and acquaintances were
discretely checked by the security agency."
The sky darkens over the cascading neon lights of Las Vegas when
Margaret Newsham tells of countless infringements of security regulations
and about her colleague who suffered brain damage when she partipated in
the development of the Stealth bomber. Though Margaret Newsham is totally
exhausted, she also seems relieved.
"This is the first time I have ever told anyone some of the things
I told you today. But now I want to get Mr. Gunther soon so I feel safe
again. She measures her blood pressure and looks very alarmed.
"I had better go to the doctor tomorrow morning, so maybe we
should meet later on in the day."
When she returns with Mr. Gunther an hour later, the dog inspects
every room before Margaret goes in. The last thing she does before falling
asleep on her king size bed is to check her pistol to make sure it is
still loaded.
Facts:
Lockheed Martin is the largest supplier of munitions to the US military
services and to their intelligence agencies, the NSA and the CIA.
During the eighties, Lockheed Martin took over LORAL Space Systems
and Ford Aerospace which also deliver monitoring equipment to the
espionage agencies. Margaret Newsham worked for the NSA through her
employment at Ford and Lockheed from 1974 to 1984. In 1977 and 1978,
Newsham was stationed at the largest listening post in the world at
Menwith Hill, England. She received on-the-job training at NSA
headquarters at Fort George Meade in Maryland, USA.
Ekstra Bladet has Margaret Newsham's stationing orders from the US
Department of Defense. She possessed the high security classification TOP
SECRET CRYPTO.
According to information found by Ekstra Bladet in the Pentagon"s
databases, the NSA had 38,613 employees in 1995. This figure does not
include the many employees at private companies who work for the NSA.
Ekstra Bladet has documented the existence of Echelon in a long
series of articles over the last months.
Denmark is affiliated with the Echelon network as a third party,
and the most important Danish listening post is located at Aflandshage on
the island of Amager.
Copyright 1999 - Ekstra Bladet - Denmark
>>Bevar naturen: Sylt et egern.<<
>>URL: http://www.datashopper.dk/~boo/index.html<<
>>PGP-encrypted mail welcomed and preferred.<<
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 14:39:10 +0100 (CET)
From: Bo Elkjaer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: INTERVIEW Pt. II: I SOLD MY LIFE TO BIG BROTHER - >
Part II of interview w. Margaret Newsham
I SOLD MY LIFE TO BIG BROTHER
"Denmark's ministers can believe whatever they want to. I know Echelon
exists, because I helped make the system." For the second day running,
former Echelon spy Margaret Newsham tells about the "Black World" of
espionage - and the fatal consequences it is had on her life. Half of her
espionage colleagues are dead today.
"The surveillance was incredibly target-oriented. We were capable of
singling out an individual or organization and monitoring all electronic
communication - real time - and all the time. The person was monitored
without ever having a chance to discover it, and most of the information
was sent with lightening speed to another station using the enormous
digital capacity at our command. Everything took place without a search
warrant."
Was all the information forwarded to NSA headquarters at Fort George Meade
in Maryland?
"Not all of it, but quite a lot."
Does the system use programs that are capable of virtually scouring the
airwaves based on certain categories and trigger words?
"That's one of the ways it functions, yes. It's like an Internet search
engine. By restricting your search to specific numbers, persons or terms,
you get results that are all related to whatever you enter.
BREACH OF SECURITY
Ekstra Bladet meets the former surveillance spy, Margaret Newsham, in her
home just outside Las Vegas. By talking to Ekstra Bladet, she chooses to
break her silence and tell us as much as she considers to be reasonably
safe. Because Newsham is still subject to the omerta of the intelligence
services. According to this stringent code of silence, she is not allowed
to reveal anything about her espionage activities for the NSA.
"But it is hard for me to live with the fact that I sold my life and my
freedom of speech to the largest intelligence service of the US
government." On the whole, it is difficult for Margaret Newsham to lead a
normal life, even though she wants to do that most of all. In 1984, she
was dismissed by Lockheed Martin, which built espionage equipment for NSA.
Ultimately, she refused to work on a project which she felt was a security
risk. She was "terminated" as they called it - and she sued them for
wrongful dismissal.
BILLION DOLLAR SWINDLERS
"I experienced security breaches almost every day both at Lockheed"s
headquarters in Sunnyvale, California and at Menwith Hill, England.
Sometimes it was utterly absurd. At a barbecue party held by colleagues
from the department responsible for developing the "invisible" Stealth
bomber, the barbecue kettle was made of the same material that made the
bomber invisible to hostile radar systems. Another time, somebody had
coffee mugs made and all of them were covered with prints of highly
classified Echelon stations. But they were also involved in actual
swindling. Lockheed Martin undercut other companies to get NSA project
contracts, after which they illegally transferred money and manpower to
meet the contract. Since they could swindle others for hundreds of
millions of dollars, they were capable of anything. That made them very
deceitful, and in my eyes, they jeopardized the security of the United
States Government."
Was the US Government informed about the clandestine projects?
"No. That's why we called them "Black Programs". The government didn't
really know what was happening or what the many billions were actually
being used for. And I felt very loyal both to the government and to the
American Constitution, which was constantly being infringed. The world of
espionage was also called "The Black World" because most of the operations
were carried out in secrecy, beyond any control."
Since her dismissal, Margaret Newsham has been under heavy pressure,
because her case against Lockheed Martin could mean that an open court
case would shed light on the NSA's "black projects". Among other things,
the case deals with swindling for more than 10 billion DKK (ca. 1.4
billion USD), and for the time being, her lawyer has provided her with
legal assistance that is the equivalent of 140 million DKK (ca. 20 million
USD).
PREMATURE DEATHS
The case has had a fatal effect on her health. Since "84 she has had a
seizure that left her totally paralyzed, survived a cardiac arrest, and on
top of everything else is suffering from cancer. Today, she lives on
borrowed time and suffers from high blood pressure.
"It didn't help any when my husband asked for a divorce after I had
survived my cardiac arrest. He is chief of security at Lockheed Martin and
has also been under a lot of pressure. He was grossly harassed because of
his affiliation with me," Newsham says.
She lives alone now and has struggled to maintain contact with her three
children and six grandchildren. Today, she lives in a quiet Las Vegas
suburb. Not even her neighbors know about her past.
"NSA's activities have not only affected me, but also my former espionage
colleagues at Lockheed. Nearly half of the people I worked with on
clandestine projects are either dead or mortally ill today. For example,
my former boss on the Echelon project, Robert Looper, died prematurely of
heart failure, and Kay Nickerson, who worked on developing the Stealth
bomber, died of brain damage."
But how could half of your former colleagues die prematurely?
"I don't know how to explain it, but at one point we discovered that
Lockheed's headquarters in Sunnyvale are built on top of a highly
radioactive dumping ground."
What did they die of?
"Heart failure, cancer, inexplicable seizures and brain damage. Even I am
going to die of cancer before my time. But I have my lawyers, my doctor
and my children and grandchildren to support me. They are the people I am
fond of."
What gives you the courage to continue?
"The fact that the NSA, CIA and NRO (National Reconnaissance Organization)
are carrying on illegal espionage against the rest of the world. They say
they are doing it to catch drug criminals, gunrunners and the like. But
that doesn't give them the right to do what they"re doing. They are
constantly breaking the law."
ECHELON IN DENMARK
In Denmark, leading politicians and ministers deny any knowledge of
Echelon beyond what they read in the newspapers.
"Now they can read about me then. I am living proof of Echelon"s
existence. I configured and ran a lot of Echelon's programs." Margaret
Newsham shows us the order that stationed her at Menwith Hill, the
specifications for some Echelon programs and other internal documents.
We found discarded computer remnants at the Aflandshage Listening Post in
Denmark designated "VAX RED". Does that mean anything to you?
"Yes, as a matter of fact it means two things. You see, I worked on VAX
computers myself, and they were used on the Echelon project.
"The color RED probably refers to the classification level. Because the
security system is based on the fact that only very few people have an
overall picture of everything that goes on. Therefore, some employees have
red tags, some purple, some blue and so on. That means that they are only
allowed to work with certain parts of the projects, i.e. the ones that are
classified under the same color. As a result, very few employees have a
complete picture of what is really going on. Since my tag had all the
colors, I had a good overview. I was also the one who made the back-up
files."
BIG BROTHER CONTROLS US
Can you understand how some people find it hard to believe that a system
like this really exists?
"Yes, but it is real. We are spying on our own citizens and the rest of
the world - even our European allies. If I say "Amnesty" or "Margaret
Newsham", it is intercepted, analyzed, coordinated, forwarded and
registered - if it is of interest to the intelligence agencies. I spoke
with a radiologist recently, who had done exactly the same thing I had,
only ten years later, in 1991, under "Operation Desert Storm". If only I
could tell you everything, then you would understand that Echelon is so
big, it's immensity almost defies comprehension." Margaret Newsham does
not regret that she has been a pariah in the US intelligence community
since her break with the NSA in 1984. A break that cost her her husband,
her job and her health.
Is there anything you would you have done differently?
"Not for a second. It is important for the truth to come out. I don't
believe we should put up with being controlled by "Big Brother" in the
future. But we put up with it now."
EXTRA FACTS
For ten years, Newsham worked for the US munitions and computer firms
Signal Science, Ford Aerospace and Lockheed Martin.
They had contracts for the development and upgrading of Echelon satellites
and computers which the companies designed for the intelligence agency
NSA.
The NSA cooperates closely with the CIA and NRO (National Reconnaissance
Organization).
For two years, Newsham shared the responsibility for the day-to-day
functioning of Echelon's computer network at Menwith Hill, England.
In classified documents, which are in the possession of Ekstra Bladet,
Menwith Hill is referred to as "the largest station in the service".
Denmark participates on a third-party basis in UKUSA, an electronic
surveillance agreement.
BY BO ELKJ=C6R AND KENAN SEEBERG
COPYRIGHT 1999: EKSTRA BLADET - COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
>>Bevar naturen: Sylt et egern.<<
>>URL: http://www.datashopper.dk/~boo/index.html<<
>>PGP-encrypted mail welcomed and preferred.<<
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 14:47:41 +0100 (CET)
From: Bo Elkjaer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: MINISTER ADMITS: Denmark participates in global surveillance -
Sigint/Surveillance/Denmark
Printed sept. 27. 99:
THE MINISTER FOR THE DEFENCE ADMITS.
"Denmark participates in a global surveillance system," admitted the
Minister for the Defense Hans Hkkerup under heavy pressure.
As one of the first governments in the clandestine Western intelligence
cooperation, Hkkerup acknowledged during a joint council in the Danish
Parliament's Europe Committee last Friday that the FE (Intelligence Agency
of the Danish Armed Forces) participates in the interception of electronic
communication.
Does this occur in cooperation with the NSA, which manages the so-called
Echelon?
"I can't confirm that, but I can tell you that the FE has been
intercepting signals ever since the Second World War - and we"re still
doing it."
Can you confirm that this takes place at Aflandshage on the island of
Amager?
"Yes, it does, and the facilities out there have been continuously
expanded over the years. We both collect and process information from
satellites. "
Is this cooperation in compliance with the law?
"Yes, it is."
The Minister for Defense was summoned to a joint council by parliament
member Keld Albrechtsen who was quite astonished by the Minister"s
admissions. Up to now, the ministries of Defense, Justice and Research
have actually denied any knowledge of the controversial global
surveillance systems.
The Minister stated that such satellite systems exist and that Denmark is
included in them, but that this system is not called Echelon. He also
stated that we have the capacity to collect and exchange information with
the intelligence agencies of other countries.
Do you have any guarantee that Danish citizens are not being illegally
monitored and registered?
"No, unfortunately." He evaded the question of whether the law is obeyed
in regards to the cooperation with the secret services of other countries.
So this system provides no guarantee for the security of life and property
for the ordinary citizen. He also to refused to go into detail on the
question of whether the operations occur in cooperation with other
countries. Another parliament member of the Europe Committee, Knud Erik
Hansen, asked at the meeting if the facilities also spied on the
commercial satellites, i.e. the ones that transmit signals like telephone
conversations.
He unfortunately evaded that question, too, but now the Minister for
Justice must be brought to order so he can assure us that both private and
commercial communication is not being monitored illegally.
BY BO ELKJ=C6R AND KENAN SEEBERG
COPYRIGHT 1999: EKSTRA BLADET - COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
>>Bevar naturen: Sylt et egern.<<
>>URL: http://www.datashopper.dk/~boo/index.html<<
>>PGP-encrypted mail welcomed and preferred.<<
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 14:42:30 +0100 (CET)
From: Bo Elkjaer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: THEY SPY ON ORDINARY PEOPLE - Sigint/Surveillance/Denmark
Interview w. Duncan Campbell
THEY SPY ON ORDINARY PEOPLE
"They spy on companies and interest groups," says Duncan Campbell, who has
looked at the listening post at Aflandshage near Copenhagen in Denmark.
"The facilities at Aflandshage are hardly distinguishable from the Echelon
installation in New Zealand."
Physicist and technology expert Duncan Campbell has no doubt. Denmark is
involved in illegal surveillance together with the other primary
participants in the so-called Echelon system, the US, England, Australia,
Canada, Hong Kong and New Zealand.
"My best guess is that the facilities at Aflandshage were additionally
expanded shortly after the end of the Cold War. In 1990 or perhaps a
little later."
What does that mean?
"Well it means that Aflandshage is in any case not part of NATO's defense
against Russia and the other East Bloc countries like it was before.
Everything indicates that the large parabolic antennas and accompanying
buildings are used in the same way as the facilities in the other
countries: to intercept communication from commercial satellites that
transmit the phone and fax conversations of ordinary people. And to
forward the intercepted information."
BREACH OF DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES
In addition to his physics degree, Duncan Campbell is also a journalist
and has closely cooperated with a group of British women who are
protesting against the largest listening station in the Echelon system. It
is located in a beautiful area on Menwith Hill near Birmingham, England.
With the help of cunning tricks, the women have sneaked into the base more
than a hundred times and removed thousands of classified documents from
the secretive base. With the help of these papers, and from information
from anonymous agents, Campbell has acquired a unique knowledge which last
year resulted in an extensive report on the global surveillance, ordered
by the European Parliament.
"The problem is that most democratic countries have laws that protect the
sanctity of private life and do not allow the lawful political activities
of their citizens to be monitored and registered. In order to monitor
someone, you must have grounds for suspicion and be authorized to do so by
a judge. Echelon is a total breach of these principles. A great number of
categories are coded into the system, and under each category there are
even more code words. Many of the words are used in normal daily
conversation. Not only the rights of ordinary people are infringed;
Echelon also monitors interest groups like Amnesty International,
Greenpeace and private companies. Several examples of industrial espionage
exist in which the US intelligence service has passed on information to US
companies that was intercepted from satellites.
BREAKS THE LAW
How can you be so sure that this is possible?
I have seen the footage taken inside the systems while they were in
operation. Both from Menwith Hill, England and Waihopa, New Zealand.
TV-Free from New Zealand succeeded in filming in the Waihopa base, and the
operations room was almost completely devoid of staff. The process is
totally automated and operates at lightening speed. In addition, I also
made a documentary for which we set up a tiny parabolic antenna beside the
base on Menwith Hill. The information it intercepted was unbelievable
after we positioned it to listen in on the same satellite at which the
large parabolic antennas in the base are aimed."
Isn't it reasonable that the system has the capability to monitor
terrorists and the like?
"Sure it is. But there is all the difference in the world between
conventional surveillance and monitoring and this system in which the law
is consistently and constantly being broken by the very people who should
be making sure that others obey the law. They are purely and simply
exchanging information which is illegal for the local intelligence
agencies in the individual countries to collect."
Is it still called Echelon?
"The code name Echelon is only part of the entire system, and everything
seems to indicate that they have switched codes. Last I heard it was
"Magistrand"."
BY BO ELKJ=C6R AND KENAN SEEBERG
COPYRIGHT 1999: EKSTRA BLADET - COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Al Wang)
Subject: Re: Identifier anonymization
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 2000 16:03:37 GMT
I've been thinking more about my problem and I had a thought: would I
be able to use some public-key algorithm as an anonymizer by promptly
destroying (or securing) the private key? This would allow me to
"anonymize" the identifier by encrypting it with the public key, but
would provide no way of decrypting it.
Would anyone be able to recommend an algorithm for this purpose? It
seems that this model would have to defend well against both
known-plaintext and chosen-plaintext attacks. Does this mean RSA
would not be such a good solution?
Thanks,
Al
On Wed, 05 Jan 2000 16:22:12 -0500, Al Wang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>Hi all,
>
>I'm looking for a process by which to take a set of 9-digit identifiers
>for a data set, and to anonymize them, so as to generate a new set of
>unique strings. This should be deterministic, so that a given
>identifier will always be translated into the same string, but that it
>is not possible to determine the original identifier from the generated
>string.
>
>Is what I'm describing possible? Are there algorithms available? I'm
>quite naive in this field, but I read the FAQ, and I'm not sure i can do
>what I'm describing without either keeping the algorithm private, or
>keeping a key to the algorithm private. As I don't ever have any need
>to "decrypt" the string, I would prefer a method in which I don't need
>to secure any sort of key. The other requirement is that the generated
>string be of reasonable length (no more than twice the length of the
>identifier?).
>
>Any help would be greatly appreciated,
>Al Wang
------------------------------
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