Digital Communication Edward Barrett, editor High Noon om the Electronic Frontier: Conceptual Issues in Cyberspace Peter Ludlow, 1996 ‘Technical Communication, Multimedia, and Information Systems Edward Barrett, editor The Nurnberg Funnel: Designing Minimalist Instruction for Practical Computer Skill, John M. Carroll, 1990 Hypermedia and Literary Studies, edited by Paul Delany and George P. Landow, 1991 Rhetoric, Innovation, Technology: Case Studies of Technical Commu- nication in Technology Transfers, Stephen Doheny-Farina, 1992 Sociomedia: Multimedia, Hypermedia, and the Social Construction of Knowledge, edited by Edward Barrett, 1992 ‘The Digital Word: Text-Based Computing in the Humanities, edited by George P. Landow and Paul Delany, 1993 Contextual Media: Multimedia and Interpretation, edited by Edward Barrett and Marie Redmond, 1995 High Noon on the Electronic Frontier Conceptual Issues in Cyberspace Peter Ludlow ‘The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England236 David Chau iny and control of people's lives, in the other, secure ions. The shape of society in the unprecedented ser parity between individuals and organi next century may depend on which approach predominates. Further Reading Brassard, Gilles. Modem Cryptology: A Tutorial, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 325. Springer-Verlag, 1988. ‘Chaum, David, The Dining Cryptographers Problem: Unconditional Sender and Recipient Untraceabilty. Journal of Cryptology 1, no. 1, pp. 65-75; 1988. Chaum, David, Privacy Protected Payments: Unconditional Payer and/or Payee Untraceability, Smart Card 2000: The Future of IC Cards. Edited by David CChaum and Ingrid Schaumveller-Bichl. North-Holland, 1989. CChaum, David. Security Without Identification: Transaction Systems to Make Big, Brother Obsolete. Communications of the ACM 28, no. 10, pp. 1030-1044; October 1985. [a A Crypto Anarchist Manifesto Cypherpunks of the World, Several of you at the “physical Cypherpunks” gathering yesterday in Silicon Valley requested that more of the material passed out in meetings be available electronically to the entice readership of the Cypherpunks list, spooks, eavesdrop- pers, and all. (Gulp.) Here's the “Crypto Anacchist Manifesto” I read at the September 1992 founding meeting. It dates back to mid-1988 and was distributed to some like-minded ists a the “Crypto’88” conference and then again atthe “Hackers that year. I later gave talks at Hackers on this in 1989 and 1990. ‘There are a few things V'd change, but for historical easons I'l just leave i as is. Some of the terms may be unfamiliae to you ... Thope the Crypto Glossary I just distributed will help. (This should explain all those crypric terms in my signa- ture!) —Tim May: ‘The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto [A specter is haunting the modern world, the specter of erypto anarchy. Computer technology is on the verge of providing the ability for individuals and groups to communicate and interact with each other in a totally anonymous manner. Two persons may exchange messages, con- duct business, and negotiate electronic contracts without ever knowing the true name, or legal identity, of the other. Interactions over networks will be untraceable, via extensive re-routing of encrypted packets and tamper-proof boxes which implement cryptographic protocols with nearly perfect assurance against any tampering. Reputations will be of central importance, far more important in dealings than even the credit238° Timothy C. May ratings of today. These developments will alter completely the nature of government regulation, the ability to tax and control economic interac- tions, the ability to keep information secret, and will even alter the nature of trust aind reputation. The technology for this revolution—and it surely will be both a social and economic revolution—has existed in theory for the past decade. The ‘methods are based upon public-key encryption, zero-knowledge interac- tive proof systems, and various software protocols for interaction, authentication, and verification. The focus has until now been on aca- demic conferences in Europe and the U.S., conferences monitored closely by the National Security Agency. But only recently have computer net. ‘works and personal computers attained sufficient speed to make the ideas practically realizable. And the next ten years will bring enough additional speed to make the ideas economically feasible and essentially unstoppa. ble. High-speed networks, ISDN, tamper-proof boxes, smart cards, satel lites, Ku-band transmitters, multi-MIPS personal computers, and encryption chips now under development will be some of the enabling, technologies. ‘The State will of course try to slow or halt the spread of this technol- ogy, citing national security concerns, use of the technology by drug, dealers and tax evaders, and fears of societal disintegration. Many of these concerns will be valid; crypto anarchy will allow national secrets to be traded freely and will allow illicit and stolen materials to be traded. ‘An anonymous computerized market will even make possible abhorrent markets for assassinations and extortion. Various criminal and foreign clements will be active users of CryptoNet. But this will not halt the spread of crypto anarchy. Just as the technology of printing altered and reduced the power of ‘medieval guilds and the social power structure, so too will cryptologic methods fundamentally alter the nature of corporations and of govern- ment interference in economic transactions. Combined with emerging information markets, ctypto anarchy will create a liquid market for any and all material which can be put into words and pictures. And just as a seemingly minor invention like barbed wire made possible the fencing-off ‘of vast ranches and farms, thus altering forever the concepts of land and. property rights in the frontier West, so too will the seemingly minor A Crypto-Anarchist Manifesto 239 discovery out of an arcane branch of mathematics come to be the wire clippers which dismantle the barbed wire around intellectual property. ‘Arise, you have nothing to lose but your barbed wire fences! Timothy C. May Caypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, temay@netcom.com anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, 408-688-5409 zero knowledge, reputations, information ‘markets, black markets, collapse of govern- ments. Higher Power: PGP Public Key: by arrangement, W.AS.T.E.: Aptos, CA 129756839