strong encryption i just posted this reply to comp risks answering risks digest summary re mark seecof key escrow from mark seecof marks wimsey latimes com subject key escrow clipper chip risks advances in digital computing have made it possible for ordinary people to use powerful machine cipher techniques it is tempting albeit chauvinistic to believe that we have a new situation here thanks to our pet computers this is not true david kahn s the codebreakers a history of cryptography makes two things obvious cryptography is a spontaneous invention of private human individuals and has been going on for thousands of years teen age slang and cipher inventions provide a modern example of this spontaneous creation the systems people created on their own were roughly as secure as and sometimes more secure than those used by military and diplomatic users of that time although they seem very simple and insecure today e g in places the bible used a more complex simple substitution than caesar did for his military dispatches but before caesar i commend kahn s book to all who might be interested disclaimer all opinions expressed are my own of course carl ellison cme sw stratus com stratus computer inc m bkw tel fairbanks boulevard marlborough ma fax
