Abstract:

Public key cryptography allows two parties to publicly create a code and exchange messages which only they will be able to read for years to come. Conversations much more secure than the ubiquitous cold war movie Presidential “secure line” are now within the grasp of anyone with a couple of hundred dollars to spend.

Governments are scared and reacting. The English inventors of public key cryptography are almost unknown because their invention was kept secret. In the United States, the government has floated several “key escrow” proposals to mandate that it have a back door to any conversation and has restricted the export of strong cryptography as munitions.

Opposition to government schemes has proven once again that politics makes strange bedfellows. Criminals are aligned with big business. Moral conservatives link up with isolationists. And anyone who gets the special FBI briefing on what is really going on in cryptography and crime immediately sides with the FBI, no matter what their previous position.

 

 

Reading:

 

The Issues:

 

Declan McCullagh, “Report: Crypto Will Harm Society” http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/20961.html

 

Matt Friedman, “Ontario Promotes Private Crypto” http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/21140.html

 

Dorothy E. Denning and William E. Baugh, Jr., “Cases Involving Encryption In Crime and Terrorism” last updated October 10, 1997

 

Reuters, FBI Warns of Crypto Danger” http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/20714.html

 

Reuters, “Final House CommitteeWraps Work on Crypto Bill” July 21, 1999 http://home.cnet.com/category/0-1005-200-345178.html

 

Wired News Report, “Demos to Prez: ‘Use Safe Text’” http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/21744.html

 

James Glave, “FCC Sides with FBI on Tapping” http://www.wired.com/news/print_version/politics/story/21477.html?wnpg=all

 

CALEA: A Precedent for Domestic Encryption Controls? http://www.cdt.org/digi_tele/cryptovscalea.html

 

Stewart A. Baker and Elizabeth A. Banker- Practising Law Institute, “589 The New Encryption Export Policy:  The U.S. Government Rethinks Key Recovery”   782 PLI/Comm 589

 

House of Representatives, “Protection of National Security and Public Safety Act Report of the Committee on Armed Services” ftp://ftp.loc.gov/pub/thomas/cp106/hr117p5.txt

 

Browse the Mindshare website:  mindshare.com

 

The Tech:

 

Hal Abelson et al. http://www.cdt.org/crypto/risks98/

 

“DES Is a Step Closer to the Dustbin” http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,1015886,00.html

 

Public Key Cryptography FAQ,  crypt-comments@manth.ncsu.edu

 

Text of Safe:

 

SAFE HR 850:  The Security and Freedom through Encription Act: 2/25/99 Intorduced by Rep. Bob Goodlatte and Rep. Zoe Lofgren  http://www.cdt.org/crypto/legis_106/SAFE/index.shtml#provisions