re clipper chip questions in rmrm jvb sol tis com mjr tis com marcus j ranum writes about scanning clipper and reverse engineering the algorithm am i missing something obvious here what could have the government done to address this possibility do they really care if it stays classified yeah you re missing the obvious fact that since the algorithm is classified if you reverse engineer it from the chip and later publish it or build a compatible chip you re divulging classified information and are in a big load of trouble i don t think they can do that without changing the law the chip itself isn t classified and reverse engineering is allowed by law possibly unless prohibited by a valid contract the algorithm may be classified but there are many court cases ruling that information identical to classfied information but obtained from unclassified sources is freely publishable with the possible exception of nuclear weapon information arthur l rubin a rubin dsg dse beckman com work beckman instruments brea mcimail com compuserve com arthur pnet cts com personal my opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer
