Re: Cats Out of Bags

["tmcghan@gill-simpson.com" <tmcghan@gill-simpson.com>]

 According to Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>

> "In an interview Tuesday, [David L.] Aaron [the Feds' Crypto Ambassador] disputed the
{snip}
> "When I talk to other governments," he said, "they still don't feel...


===(mis)quoted, paraphrased, and enhanced from current news reports===

The Clinton administration's newly named point man on encryption policy is citing
international support for U.S. policies limiting use of encryption and called for
industry cooperation. 

Speaking to the RSA Data Security Conference in San Francisco, David
Aaron said that U.S. allies support the concept of lawful access by
governments and the use of key recovery mechanisms. 

The White House's continued restrictions on encryption have been unpopular in the
cryptography community and among major U.S. corporations and high tech companies
because of the business disadvantage vis a vis foreign firms.

Aaron alleges that U.S. trading partners have misgivings about the 
U.S. government's decision in October to allow 'moderately strong' 56-bit encryption,
to be exported, under controlled circumstances, but were willing to cooperate on the
policy. 

"As far as I can see, the international encryption market will not be 
a free-wheeling affair," he said, adding companies should consider that 
lawful access and key escrow capabilities may become "a growthe 
industry"

In his speech, Aaron also listed cases where the U.S. government said 
encryption was used in terrorist plots, drug dealing, child pornography 
and espionage, adding the White House, "in no way seeks to expand law 
enforcement powers nor reduce the privacy of individuals." 

Independent experts strongly disagreed with Aaron's characterization of the
international posture following his address here, and leading U.S. legislators
said they would continue to push for further reform of the restrictions. 

"I just don't think it will work," Sen. Conrad Burns, a Montana 
Republican who has been behind the legislative effort to promote use 
of stronger levels of encryption, said of the White House encryption 
policy. 

"I think if bad people want to do bad things to good people, they 
certainly won't want to file their key (with any law enforcement 
authorities)," Burns said in a satellite conference.

Marc Rotenberg, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Electronic 
Privacy Information Center, rebutted Aaron's suggestion that 
Washington has broad international support for its concept of lawful access by 
governments to the keys to encrypted files and communications. 

Rotenberg said at the recent Organization of Economic Cooperation and 
Development (OECD) meetings on encryption policy, that was not the 
case, nor were a number of countries pushing for stronger controls, as 
Aaron said they had been. 

Germany, Australia, Japan and Canada all are advancing competing cryptography 
capabilities, according to Rotenberg.

Thomas M. McGhan
tmcghan@gill-simpson.com
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