Re: "Gentlemen do not read each other's mail"

["Philip R. Moyer" <prm-ml@rome.isl.sri.com>]

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Perry writes:

> Why is he our patron saint? He was a government official coming out
> against invasion of privacy. Isn't that what we are all after, in the
> end? The reason we deploy cryptography is to assure privacy for
> all. We often refer to those who listen in on conversations
> (regardless of who they are) as, in some sense, our
> opposition. Therefore, is not Stimson's remark in closing down
> Yardley's "Black Chamber" to be praised rather than attacked?

At the risk of sounding like an NSA apologist, I have to take issue with
Perry's position on this matter.  I see a distinct difference between
broad monitoring of a nation's citizens and focused signals intelligence
gathering in support of national security.  The Black Chamber was not
out to subvert the national communications infrastructure, or prevent
citizens from obtaining or developing cryptographic tools.  The Black
Chamber was there to cryptanalyze traffic from _governments_.

In other words, I see a distinction between Intelligence activities and
Law Enforcement activities.  Yes, I recognize that there is a gray area
where the two overlap; I believe, however, that signals intelligence is
still a necessary evil in the global environment.  Just saying, "Oh heck,
we don't some of the things the NSA does," and dismantling it is a bit
unrealistic, isn't it?

Cheers,
Phil

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