Re: Digital warfare

[Jim McCoy <mccoy@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu>]

Phile Karn <karn@qualcomm.com> writes:
> I want to echo Carl's sentiments. I do find talk about cryptographically
> enforced underground economies to be interesting, but scary as well
> precisely because I'm afraid of what the backlash might do to the
> cryptographically enforced personal privacy that I'm primarily
> interested in.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your position) the two are
really inseperable; it is this fact above all others that I really think
gives the people inside the beltway the willies when it comes to
cryptography.  Information has no morality and is subject to no rules save
its own.  It is kinda like money in that way... >:)  

If you have the ability to send message that is private there is nothing to
prevent that message from being a digital cheque for payment of services.
The "underground economy" is probably a lot larger than you would imagine,
and given the current political climate you might be able to get a lot
farther with the masses by telling them that digital money will give them
the ability to tell the IRS where to stick thier noses than pretending it
would never happen in the "crypto-enlightened age" and have an opponent
bring it up as a point against strong crypto.

The two are really inseperable and it seems to be of little value to
pretend that they are not.

jim