Re: Cypherpunks, keep your powder dry....

[tcmay@netcom.com (Timothy C. May)]

Ed Carp writes:

> >      She also conclused that getting criminals to use the system
> >      will be a problem.  As a solution, Denning suggests legislation
> >      tlat places some constraints on the use of other products.  This
> >      would force them to come up with their own solutions, costing them
> >      time and money that they might not be willing to sacrifice, she
> >      explains.m 
> 
> Nonsense.  I can already see a market, either black, gray, or otherwise,
> for non-Clipper/Skipjack devices.  In fact, I'd REALLY be surprised if
> people haven't already come up with them on their own.  How hard could it
> be to throw together an 80386-based embedded system, put PGP in ROM, add
> a couple of A/D converters, and *presto* - instant privacy.  Add table
> lookup (programmable from the phone pad, of course, based on the number
> dialed) and you've got a pretty decent PEP (privacy-enhanced phone) :)

At the risk of stating the obvious, I think it is precisely schemes
like this that Denning was referring to. These are what she wants to
target.
      
Several groups have proposed crypto phones, most using CELP and
SoundBlaster-type cards for PCs. Recall that the Cypherpunks in
Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C., and Boston/Cambridge linked up with
encrypted audio links (albeit briefly). Such things are possible, for
sure.
      
But as "street corner drug dealers" start to use encryption (it could
happen...the "phase changes" to beepers and cellular phones happened
in a matter of months), there will be calls for restrictions to "keep
"unbreakable codes' out of the hands of criminals and terrorists.

As several others have noted, various nonlegislative measures can be
used....requirements for certification of all "devices" attached to
phone lines might be one such measure (never mind the futility of
enforcement). The ban on using crypto in ham radio transmissions is
illustrative. 

If Denning and her associates are already talking about the need to
make non-Clipper use more difficult (read: outlawed), then it is
likely the legislation is already being drawn up in some form.


-Tim


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