A New Crypto Announcement--Could be Ominous

["Timothy C. May" <tcmay@got.net>]

(My traffic from the Cypherpunks list comes in bursts interspersed by long
gaps, so I don't know if this has been reported. It seems significant to
me.)

A few excerpts:

H-P ( Hewlett-Packard Co ) says RSA Data ( Security Dynamics Technologies
Inc ) in codes deal

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov 15 (Reuter) - Hewlett-Packard Co. said Security
Dynamics Technologies Inc's RSA Data Security Inc electronic encryption
company is involved in its planned announcement Monday of new advance in
encryption technology.

Hewlett-Packard said technology the company's Chairman and Chief Executive
Lewis Platt is due to detail at the National Press Club on Monday aims
to resolve this roadblock in the use of electronic commerce over the Internet.
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^[emphasis added by Tim]

Hewlett-Packard officials declined to give precise details, but said the
technology has already received backing from the U.S. government and other
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
governments which it did not name, as well as major industry players.

Senior executives of Microsoft Corp and Intel Corp are among those
scheduled to make presentations on Monday, Hewlett-Packard said, but it
declined to identify other companies whose technologies will be involved.

----end of item---

It sounds ominous to me. Another backroom deal, probably for some form of
key recovery strategy, aka GAK.

--Tim May, awaiting Monday's announcement with trepidation

"The government announcement is disastrous," said Jim Bidzos,.."We warned IBM
that the National Security Agency would try to twist their technology."
[NYT, 1996-10-02]
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed.
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Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1,257,787-1 | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."