08 Jul 2002 08:32
Online activist group Hacktivismo is to release an encryption tool that disguises information in images as an antidote to Internet censorship.
Called Camera/Shy, the stealth tool disguises Web content in GIF files using a 256-bit strength encryption-key based technology called steganography.
The program's creators liken Camera/Shy to an Internet Explorer-style browser that can automatically extract disguised information directly from images posted on the Web.
The program has been received cautiously by online privacy enthusiasts.
Though many support Hacktivismo's goal in releasing the program -- it is aimed at human rights workers who wish to report abuses in places where the Internet is heavily monitored -- some have urged caution.
Many have opined that the technology underestimates the skills of surveillance experts and give novice users of stealth technologies a false sense of security.
"I am afraid unless Hacktivismo is really careful and knows what they're doing, their program may get some human rights workers tortured and killed," said one concerned observer.
Familiar, dramatic themes of the privacy debate were also wheeled out as others pointed out that the tool could give violent organisations a means to operate covertly.
"Although not all of us are Americans, we share the fundamental ideals of the Constitution of the United States, especially freedom of speech. Camera/Shy is a small first step in sharing that privilege," said Hacktivismo founder, Oxblood Ruffin.
Hacktivismo, which claims to be affiliated with Cult of the Dead Cow, expects to release Camera/Shy at the H2K2 conference on 13 July, 2002.
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