re clipper chip in article apr ens fr h o dmi ens fr philippe hoogvorst writes forbidding crypted communication is impractical how is it possible to spot a crypted communication in the thousands of megabytes of data which circulate on the various existing networks what about private networks i suspect the government feels it is enough to prevent companies from offering secure encryption services big companies don t take that kind of risk they re too visible and have too much to lose the us government may not have to make encryption illegal to prevent its use if they could credibly say to ibm or mit you will receive no us government money next year unless you follow these voluntary guidelines on use of encryption i doubt either organization would delay making use of encryption a violation of local policies the us government gets much of its power by making it impractical to operate without getting money from the government while putting restrictions on use of such money that would be illegal if they were enacted as laws john carr jfc athena mit edu
