re secret algorithm re clipper chip and crypto key escrow in article strnlghtc lgfi jqa netcom com strnlght netcom com david sternlight writes though some may argue about the nose of the camel it s worth noting that the government proposal is limited to scrambled telephony if it is only used for that purpose and does not extend to electronic mail or file encryption then it is an improvement over the current mass produced standard civilian technology which with a few exceptions is limited to easy to break inverters note that the big issue for the feds is the continued ability to wiretap before we go off the deep end with long discusions about secure crypto for e mail and files let s focus on this one question that was not asked in the release is whether this proposal is limited to telephony or if the government intends to expand it though i share many of the concerns expressed by some i find the proposal less threatening than many others since right now most americans have no secure telephony and any jerk with a pair of clip leads and a goat can eavesdrop this would also plug up the security hole in cellular and cordless phones reading between the lines i infer that the system is highly secure without access to the keys this would meet the needs of u s businesses confronted by rich and powerful adversaries including french and japanese security services and rich japanese companies it allows the nsa to make available some of its better stuff while protecting law enforcement needs most legitimate u s corporations trust the nsa and would be delighted to have a high security system certified by them even at the price of depositing keys in escrow i see no difficulty in creating a reliable escrow corporations entrust their secrets to attorneys every day of the week and that system has worked pretty well from my point of view this is a fair starting point there are concerns that need to be addressed including the reliability of the escrows but in return we get access to high security crypto many have suggested that des and other systems may be breakable by the nsa and hence others similarly skilled and endowed there is at least a good possibility which should be checked that the proposed system is not so breakable it doesn t have to be nor does it have to have trapdoors if the government can get the keys pursuant to a legitimate court order thus they can protect legitimate communications against economic adversaries while still being able to eavesdrop on crooks pursuant to a court order let me ask you this would you trust richard nixon with your crypto keys i wouldn t doug holland
