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Annoucement for Australian Crypto Radio Documentary
Largely of interest to the Australian -- can we be counted on one
hand ? :-) -- audience.
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*PRESS RELEASE* *PRESS RELEASE* *PRESS RELEASE*
tales from the crypt
===============================================
`There's nothing new about cryptography' ...
Bill Caelli.
ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio National
`Radio Eye -- Documentary Features'
Sunday Night, June 12th 8:20pm
... presents ...
``TALES FROM THE CRYPT''
Rosie Cross <[email protected]> &
Matthew Gream <[email protected]>
(Mixed by John Jacobs)
(Sounds by Rob Joyner Jnr)
`Cryptography is a very political technology' says Phil
Zimmermann, author of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), a computer
software program to scramble and protect your most vital
electronic messages. Complex algorithms such as those used in
PGP now give individuals the ability to carry out conversations
locked away from the prying eyes of the most determined Law
Enforcement and National Security Agencies.
Fearing a widespread loss of effectiveness, these agencies had
their wishes granted last year with the US Governments release
of the electronic `Clipper Chip'. This insidious device, to be
planted in phones and facsimiles, may scramble voice and data
between both ends of a connection, but contains a backdoor so
these agencies can retain their surveillance edge.
Despite assurances by the Government and proponents of the
scheme such as leading cryptographer Dorothy Denning, the
reaction has been clearly negative as evidenced by echos of
dissent across cypherspace. These assurances are easily refuted
by John Perry Barlow from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF) and Dave Banisar from the now Electronic Privacy
Information Centre (EPIC) [*], representing two of the most
active groups opposing Clipper.
Viewed from the Australian perspective, Jennifer Seberry
describes the Clipper proposal as applying `an atomic bomb,
where a drop of ointment is needed' and Trudi McIntosh describes
a Government looking on `with interest'. To Roger Clarke, an
Australian expert on privacy issues and new technologies,
Clipper seems unlikely, but he warns about complacency in his
assessment of the possible ramifications for individuals in
electronic societies where systematic surveillance and mass
matching could serve as a tool of the totalitarian state.
In protecting ourselves from an Orwellian society, the need to
extend the physical concepts of anonymity into the information
world become of increasing importance. The work of David Chaum
towards Digital Cash, and truly anonymous payment systems can
steer the information superhighways past the military-industrial
complex.
In the end, the issue isn't about `cryptography', it's about
fundamental rights to privacy and freedom from arbitrary
intrusion by an increasingly hostile state.
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[*] Formally with Computer Professionals for Social
Responsibility (CPSR)
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--
Matthew Gream
Consent Technologies
Sydney, (02) 821-2043
[email protected]