Clipper article in Cu Digest, #9.10, Wed 20 Feb 97

[Bill Stewart <stewarts@ix.netcom.com>]

CUD is available at  URL: http://www.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest/
Here are some excerpts:

>>From --  Fight Censorship <FIGHT-CENSORSHIP@vorlon.mit.edu>
>  Federal Computer Week
>  DOD sinks the Clipper
..
>  The Defense Department plans to remove the government key escrow
>  software from its Fortezza cards used on the Defense Message System, a
>  move that signals the death of the Clinton administration's
>  controversial Clipper initiative and one that should encourage
>  civilian use of the cryptographic cards.
>
>  A DOD spokeswoman confirmed the decision to remove the key escrow but
>  would not provide further details.
>
>  The DOD decision, which will be formalized in a policy expected out
>  shortly, is in response to the administration's decision last October
>  to support key recovery technology instead of the controversial
>  Clipper initiative. Each agency must decide how it will implement the
>  government's policy internally. A technical advisory committee will
>  develop standards for a federal key management infrastructure.
...
>  DOD has for years pressured civilian agencies to use government escrow
>  technology, but the agencies were wary of the law enforcement access.
>  Stephen Walker, president and chief executive officer of Trusted
>  Information Systems Inc. (TIS), said the policy will remove the last
>  remnants of the Clipper and serve as an official endorsement of key
>  recovery technology.
>
>  "This is the end of Clipper,'' Walker said. "This is a very positive
>  move because it puts the Defense Department in a posture of using
>  commercial products instead of Defense Department products. If the
>  Defense Department is moving away from key escrow, no one else is
>  going to feel obligated to have key escrow either."
....
>  Sources said DOD's move was targeted to increase the appeal of the
>  Fortezza card to users outside DOD.
>
>  Bruce McConnell, chief of information policy at the Office of
>  Management and Budget, said the move would make Fortezza cards more
>  attractive, but he cited different reasons. "It does encourage people
>  to use it because it moves toward the commercial approach that's being
>  taken," he said.


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