BIX musings on Zimmermann

[peace@BIX.com]

Reposted from bix.com
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security/encryption #695, from gnikoloff, 2722 chars, Tue Feb 22 19:24:18 1994
This is a comment to message 694.
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I think many of us want to know anything that happens. (About the Zimmermann
Grand Jury).   If Phil Zimmermann
is indicted for what he did, then I can't see how the US can differ from
any third-world police state. I can remember reading about how 'Fusion'
magazine, which is a publication dealing with Nuclear Fusion, was prosecuted
for allegedly revealing secrets behind the construction of thermonuclear
weapons (amazingly, one of the key techniques was the use of Styrofoam to
build a stable plasma during detonation). They pointed out that the details
had been published 30 years ago in the Encyclopedia Americana. I believe
the case was dropped. 
Phil didn't invent RSA encryption. He just popularised it by providing a
great product, professionally designed and written, easy to use.
To attempt to suppress this technology now would be as futile as suppressing
details on the construction of nuclear weapons. Enough information exists
in the public domain for countries such as North Korea to build a bomb.
You can't, as one science-fiction writer said in another context,
"put the mushroom cloud back in the shiny uranium sphere". Actually, now
I think about that, it was Isaac Asimov in his story about an invention
which allowed people to see back into time. Suppressed by the Government,
it was independently re-invented by a professor who only got curious about
the topic when he realised it was classified. The catch; when does time begin?
one second ago?, one nano-second ago?. With the invention, privacy became
a thing of the past; you could go anywhere, see anything. Its kind of a neat
twist on this issue. The government would have us believe encryption is a
*bad thing* because bad guys will use it to hide their activities. But,like
the time-travel machine, there are good and bad points. Who do you believe?.
Myself, I want to use encryption such as PGP for good and legitimate reasons.
For example, if I want to send confidential information over the Internet, which
is obviously not a secure channel. It is patently ridiculous to suggest
that I should not be permitted to do this.
But the arguments have been done to death. Like abortion, it boils down to
the right of the individual versus the rights of the State (and by implication,
society as a whole). I vote for the right to privacy. In fact, I had thought
it enshrined in the Constitution. It is a basic tenet of life in a democratic
society.
If you're reading this, Phil, there are many people backing you 100%.
As for the rest of us, make a stand. To the owners of BIX, if you permit
these sorts of discussions on your system, you should have the courage to post
PGP. There are other US sites on the Internet still holding it. Stand up and
be counted!. They can't sue you all.