Re: The public sees no need for crypto at this time

[frantz@netcom.com (Bill Frantz)]

At 10:25 AM 11/21/96 -0800, Timothy C. May wrote:
>I believe that at this time the differential market value to customers of
>having strong crypto in telephones is near-zero, and in cell-phones is only
>slightly greater. [reasoning deleted].

I generally agree with Tim about consumers.  However, I remember working on
a theater production where we were using Radio Shack 2-way headphones for
communication.  One day while we were setting up, we were able to overhear
a woman discussing (presumably with a girlfriend) her boyfriend and their
sex life over a portable telephone.  You can bet that every available
headset was in use and all other work stopped.

Where I think there is a market and an awareness of a need is in the
corporate world.  I recently saw a corporate security policy which
specifically restricted discussing classified information on portable or
cell phones.  If I were in France (to pick on just one guilty country), I
would not want to discuss secrets involving competitive position vs. a
French company on a landline connection.  The big driving force for
companies is how much the facility costs.  (I recently heard a price of
$700 for non-crypto phones.)  If the cost is low enough, company employees
will have these boxes in their homes.

The other big obstacle is standards.  As far as I can tell, every crypto
phone has its own protocol.  If there were a standard set of protocols, it
would greatly help the market, as it has for so many other products.  As a
first step, I suggest that Eric Blossom and PGP Inc. work together to
develop a mode where their products can communicate with each other.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Frantz       | The lottery is a tax on    | Periwinkle -- Consulting
(408)356-8506     | those who can't do math.   | 16345 Englewood Ave.
frantz@netcom.com |       - Who 1st said this? | Los Gatos, CA 95032, USA