Deep Dives #6 cryptome.org
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My article for Deep Dives #6
Dual-use technology
And I will focus on 1997 specifically as this is where it all started for 'the rest of us'.
OK here we go,
Dual-use cell-phones
Dual use technology is everything that can be used in both peaceful and in military manner
In this day and age this concerns A LOT of things.
As an example to get an idea what dual use is:
The internet for instance is based on Military ARPA/DARPA technology, the ARPAnet, that everyone under the sun is using to be entertained . While the military use it to collect all our personal data and they criminalize innocent people as a result. And we all sponsor the war effort.
A TV is a 'peaceful' entertainment machine that also can be used by the military as a propaganda / fake news machine.
The cellphone networks (yes networks, there are MANY)The Roaming Network / Interconnection Network, this are all the networks that we all use today. SS7, GRX, GPRS, EDGE, GSM, UTMS, HSPA, GSM, LTE, WiMAX, all of this are separate networks that interconnect. And all of this is also used by Military players, again to spy on us. And we all sponsor the war effort.
GPS, Global Positioning System is another Military use technology, that is rolled out for domestic use, that again makes domestic users pay for military tech. It is o so handy, lets all buy a TomTom and sponsor the war effort.
This is an all you can eat data networks that the military use for 'Target Localization', they simply hunt you down on the network no matter where you are on the planet. 70% of the drone strikes are said to be based on this target localization. So if you ever get bombed by a drone, it could be that someone illegally used one of your devices by the use of backdoors that where placed in your device by a security agency. Yes, it is really that bad. This actually makes it Triple-use technology...
Now that you have a general idea of how Dual-use Technology lives in your pocket we can dive deeper. The actual dual use goes much further then all these gadgets and convenience technology. It goes as far as natural resources and how much of a given 'suff' has been imported by a certain country. Aluminium can for instance be used to make pots and pans, foil, machined parts, harddrives, etc. But it can also be used to build a military aircraft.
If a certain amount of a certain resource is imported by a certain country. Then a in the USA people start to get nervous, and make themselves illusions about weapons of mass destruction. And use that to start a war based on their own illusions to hunt for proof of something that never even existed.
every day these factories make insane amounts of bullets,
makes one wonder how many people get slaugtered every
single day to keep these factories running
And this is limited to the OLDEST documents on the subject in the cryptome.org database from 1995 to 1997
In December 1995 there was an agreement reached on this Dual-use technology during a meeting at Wittenburg Castle, in Wassenaar, The Hague in The Netherlands. And it goes by the name of The Wassenaar Arrangement (or Agreement)
It deals with "Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies"
This Arrangement deals with:
Category 1 – Special Materials and Related Equipment
Category 2 – Materials Processing
Category 3 – Electronics
Category 4 – Computers
Category 5 – Part 1 – Telecommunications
Category 5 – Part 2 – Information Security
Category 6 – Sensors and Lasers
Category 7 – Navigation and Avionics
Category 8 – Marine
Category 9 – Aerospace and Propulsion
As you can see, the introduction of this article merely looked at Telecommunications.
Lets have a look at the Cryptome.org documents if we can find a bit more on the subject.
The oldest Document is instantly interesting:
The sentence that pops out is: "At the Vancouver Summit in 1993, Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin agreed that the regime should be replaced with a new, non-discriminatory arrangement, to be joined by Russia." And this seems to have resulted in the Wassenaar meeting.
It's striking how this document has a section: " Preventing Destabilizing Accumulations of Arms " Now that we know how John McCain gave destabilizing amounts of arms to for instance the Ukraine. to fight against Russia when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state.
Then there is a short 1997 document on Crypto Regulations It doesn't say a lot, but that they wanted to regulate back in 1997 and that this is linked to the Dual-use technology in a way tells us a lot. As regulating encryption makes it hard for domestic users to maintain privacy. While state actors can use powerful encryption to hide all their 'work'. But the document is too limited to know what was discussed. O, and of course, cryptology is a dual use good as well.
Then there is another 1997 document
I. Purposes
- The Wassenaar Arrangement has been established in order to contribute to regional and international security and stability, by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, thus preventing destabilizing accumulations. Participating states will seek, through their national policies, to ensure that transfers of these items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities which undermine these goals, and are not diverted to support such capabilities.
- It will complement and reinforce, without duplication, the existing control regimes for weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, as well as other internationally recognized measures designed to promote transparency and greater responsibility, by focusing on the threats to international and regional peace and security which may arise from transfers of armaments and sensitive dual-use goods and technologies where the risks are judged greatest.
- This arrangement is also intended to enhance cooperation to prevent the acquisition of armaments and sensitive dual-use items for military end-uses, if the situation in a region or the behavior of a state is, or becomes, a cause for serious concern to the participating states.
- This arrangement will not be directed against any state or group of states and will not impede bona fide civil transactions. Nor will it interfere with the rights of states to acquire legitimate means with which to defend themselves pursuant to Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations.
This document seems to focus mainly on real arms, and not on dual-use.
It doesn't sound all that bad, yet we now know that Iraq was accused of heaving 'Weapons of mass destruction'. That makes you wonder if they used the Wassenaar 'idea' of dual-use technology to estimate what technology Iraq imported and then estimate how much could have been used and from there do a witch hunt to find that technology.
Sure this sounds like a conspiracy theory. Let's leave it at that.
The intentions look OK, but as we all know good intentions are not real life solutions.
As some people have the intention to give you a dollar, but instead they smack you in the face. Well, that's how politics often work.
The [next document] is another short document about cryptography.
5.A.2. Exceptions
5.A.2.a.1. Designed or modified to use "cryptography" employing digital techniques to ensure "Information security";
5.A.2.a.6. Designed or modified to provide certified or certifiable "multilevel security" or user isolation at a level exceeding Class B2 of the Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC) or equivalent;
5.A.2.a.e. Designed or modified for only copy protection.
5.A.2.a.f. Designed or modified to keep access control materials of personal identification number (PIN) etc, and to block access to facilities without authentication, and [..] does not allow encryption for file or text.
5.A.2.a.g. Designed or modified to provide message authentication code [..].
5.A.2.a.h. [..] designed and limited for banking or money transactions [..].
Aha, so here the banks are the domestic dual-use of military technology!
interesting is how this document refers to:
http://www.barrier-free.co.jp/a2z/c/CRYPTON/box1996/19960821-1-wassenaar.html
(written in Japanese)
http://www.sipri.se/projects/armstrade/wass_initialelements.html
Yet both of these pages are no longer available.
Then there is a longer document about crypto regulations.
This goes deeper into Telecommunications pushing the boundaries of high frequency devices and the need to be able to withstand gamma, neutron or ion radiation.
This high frequency encrypted communication concerns:
- Wire (line);
That last one could be a bit unfriendly to our whales. But nobody seems to care about that
That however makes all communications useful as military dual-use
The next document is a list of Dual-use goods.
Unfortunately cryptome.org does not link all of this correctly.
LIST OF DUAL-USE GOODS AND TECHNOLOGIES
General Technology and General Software Notes
Category 1 Advanced Materials (42K)
Category 2 Materials Processing (59K)
Category 3 Electronics (36K)
Category 4 Computers (29K)
Category 5 - Part 1 Telecommunications (17K)
Category 5 - Part 2 "Information Security" (8K)
Category 6 Sensors and "Lasers" (61K)
Category 7 Navigation and Avionics (16K)
Category 8 Marine (20K)
Category 9 Propulsion (24K)
Annex 1 (32K)
Annex 2 (14K)
MUNITIONS LIST (61K)
General Technology Note
Items 1 to 22
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED IN THESE LISTS (62K)
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THESE LISTS (7K)
STATEMENTS OF UNDERSTANDING AND VALIDITY NOTES (9K)
That together makes a 150 page document of dual-use technologies.
So whatever we use, we are helping somebodies war.
Depending on how the next document is interpreted it looks more of a guide on how to waste time and money then to actually do something useful.
In order of the Paperwork Reduction act this document creates A LOT of paperwork, as all of the Wassenaar Arrangements must have record keeping.
Method of Collection
The information will be collected in electronic and written form.
Today data centers at the size of a small city kill more trees then classic paperwork ever did.
But all will be documented, that's the scope of that document.
And the last 1997 document on Dual-use.
Is a very short one about the implementation.
This wraps it up for me for now.
The 1997 Cryptome.org docs on Dual-use
If you are curious about what is considered dual-use technology in 2018 then you can find the latest list @ Wassenaar.org
As a last note I'd like to add my personal opinion.
When you put butter on your bread with a use of a knife, then you may not realize that that knife can also be used to kill someone. But does that justify that your rich neighbor bully is keeping an eye on all the metals that enter your home?
Now, it is clear that certain resources, like for instance uranium, pose a real risk. But keep in mind that the big bully neighbor has his house STACKED with those resources and actually makes the weapons, and manages to sell them to other neighbor who are on their turn killing lots of people with those weapons.
So the bully neighbor is allowed to stuff his wallet, the other neighbor who is at war is also allowed to BUY those weapons from the bully . And the money justifies everything.
People still get killed, the bully neighbor even sells his own army to fight in those wars, and again for personal gain.
But you may not be allowed to have your knife that you actually need to prepare the food that you need every single day to be able to survive.
Have a closer look at the materials described in the documents above, and ask yourself if this isn't going a bit too far. Specially as the actual aggressor is the one who is gaining most from all of this.