NS on TTPs

[jya@pipeline.com (John Young)]

   New Scientist, 22 July 1996, p. 10. 
 
 
   Crackdown on Net Crooks 'a charter for state snoopers' 
 
 
   Britain and France have become the first European nations 
   to take concerted action against swindlers and other 
   criminals operating on the Internet. The governments of 
   both countries last week announced plans to license Trusted 
   Third Parties (TTPs) to act as "honest brokers" for online 
   business transactions. But civil liberties campaigners fear 
   that the schemes may be snoopers' charters, giving police 
   forces and security agencies unprecedented opportunities to 
   spy on the world of business. 
 
   The idea is for TTPs to act as "introduction agencies" that 
   will reassure each party to a deal that the other has been 
   vetted and is reputable. TTPs will also hand out encryption 
   software that business partners will use to exchange 
   information in confidence. But in both countries, TTPs will 
   be required to release the keys to this encryption to the 
   police or the security services, on production of an 
   appropriate warrant. 
 
   Currently there are few safeguards to protect those 
   contemplating buying goods or services over the Internet 
   from fraudsters. "Cyberspace has become the new frontier 
   for scam artists," concluded a report released by the US 
   Federal Trade Commission last month. "The scams are not new 
   but the medium is." 
 
   John Moroney, a senior consultant at the computer 
   consultancy Ovum, believes TTPs are the best way to drive 
   forward the growth of business over the Internet. As online 
   transactions become commonplace, he argues, banks may be 
   especially keen to volunteer as TTPs, to protect their 
   dominance in the financial services market. "If home 
   shopping takes off they could be left exposed," says 
   Moroney. 
 
   But Simon Davies, director of the London-based civil 
   liberties watchdog, Privacy International calls the plan 
   "naive". He argues that businesses are perfectly capable of 
   setting up secure systems for electronic trade without 
   government involvement: "What is the government doing in 
   this field in the first place?" The British and French 
   proposals, Davies says, bear a strong resemblance to the 
   failed "Clipper chip" plan in the US. 
 
   The Clipper scheme involved building a scrambling chip into 
   all new telephones and computers. The keys to the scrambler 
   would have been in the hands of government-appointed 
   agencies. "With Clipper it quickly became clear the agenda 
   was broader than initially stated," says Davies, "and that 
   is exactly what will happen in Europe." He fears that if 
   the scheme takes off, companies not using TTP-approved 
   encryption software will instantly come under surveillance 
   by the police or security services. 
 
   The Department of Trade and Industry in Britain rejects 
   this claim. "The government licensing of TTPs is just a way 
   of enhancing consumer confidence," says a spokesman, who 
   adds that there are no plans to ban non-TTP software. 
   Banks, trade associations and telecommunications firms are 
   the most likely candidates for becoming TTPs, the DTI says. 
 
   -- Mark Ward 
 
   [End]