clipper chip facts a request having read the various clipper announcements on the net over the last few days and a lot of uninformed speculation about the chip its uses government plots etc i have the following questions what does the clipper chip actually implement just the skipjack cryptographic algorithm or does it also implement a chip to chip communications protocol if it does implement a communications protocol can it be used as just a crypt chip also where can the chip specifications and spec sheets be obtained who may purchase them and under what conditions are there restrictions as to how the chip may be used in a system the security of the algorithm and the encrypted communications does not appear to require that the family key be a secret why is it a secret what happens when the family key becomes well known if it s a secret to make traffic analysis more difficult does the law enforcement message contain any random information how much and how random is it can the chip be programmed to reveal the unit key the chip serial number any of the programming parameters raymond s brand rbrand usasoc soc mil
