Presidential advisor on the "problem of encryption"

[Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>]

Presidential advisor Jim Steinberg spoke across the street from my office
this afternoon at the Mayflower Hotel, addressing the European Institute.
He said:

	...we will pay a price if the United States and
	the EU cannot work together effectively
	to address the problem of encryption in a way
	that allows our cutting-edge industries to
	thrive, our citizens to have security in their
	communications, while at the same time
	protecting common public security interests.

Translation: the government gets a backdoor to your encrypted files. Read
on for more. (BTW, Steinberg is deputy assistant to the president for
national security affairs. Also Deputy National Security Council Advisor
and formerly the director of the State Department Policy Planning Staff.)

Background:
  http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/afternoon/0,1012,1626,00.html
  http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/opinion/0,1042,1385,00.html

-Declan


"We also need to find better ways to harness our efforts to
counter the kinds of new crimes looming ahead in the next
century.  We have made considerable progress through the
Summit of the Eight, taking new steps to increase airline
security, to protect our infrastructures, to fight
cyber-crime and, most important, to promote nuclear safety.
 We are encouraged that Prime Minister Blair has identified
cooperative law enforcement as a major topic for the
Birmingham Summit this May.  We have been somewhat
disappointed that Europe has not strengthened its
cooperation with us on the vital third pillar.  I am
particularly concerned about the lack of enthusiastic
support for the U.S.-sponsored international Law Academy in
Budapest. Full integration in the Euro-Atlantic community
means that all of our police forces must have the
confidence to work together against transnational threats.
It is vital that the emerging democracies enjoy the rule of
law during their transition period, and we will pay a price
if the United States and the EU cannot work together
effectively to address the problem of encryption in a way
that allows our cutting-edge industries to thrive, our
citizens to have security in their communications, while at
the same time protecting common public security interests.

"But the gravest and most immediate challenge before us is
to find more common ground between the United States and
Europe in dealing with states that threaten our common
interests.  We have started to fall into a troubling
pattern of good cop/bad cop.  This pattern, whereby Europe
provides the carrot, and the United States is left holding
the stick, is unhealthy for both sides, and only benefits
our common adversaries.  While we all believe that dialogue
and engagement are the preferred course, dialogue should
not be an excuse for inaction when countries like Iraq fail
to live up to Security Council resolutions, and other
nations import weapons of mass destruction and export
terror.  This divergence compromises the effectiveness of
our shared efforts."




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