Re: Boycott "Applied Cryptography" and AT&T and RSA

[JonWienke@aol.com]

>Bruce Schnier (Author of applied cryptography) and Matt Blaze (Who
>is a crypto bigwig at at&t) have made it clear that they support
>key escrow. Both have written letters in favor of the new crypto
>law, it creates a key escrow system and also other restricts on
>crypto. The letters are on the CDT homepage and i think were
>posted here.

Whoever wrote this crap is an idiot.  In the preface of Applied Cryptography,
(Page xx) on the subject of government key escrow, Schneier states:

    "Some dangerously Orwellian assumptions are at work here:  that the
government has the right to listen to private communications and that there
is something wrong with a private citizen trying to keep a secret from the
government.  ...this is the first time people have been forced to make
themselves available for surveillance.  These initiatives are not simple
government proposals in some obscure area; they are pre-emptive and
unilateral to usurp powers that previously belonged to the people.
    Clipper and Digital Telephony do not protect privacy; they force
individuals to unconditionally trust that the government will respect their
privacy.  ...
    The lesson here is that it is insufficient to protect ourselves with
laws; we need to protect ourselves with mathematics.  Encryption is too
important to be left solely to governments."

Schneier goes on to state that the purpose of the book is to ensure that
people will have access to strong crypto, even if it is outlawed.  It is hard
to interpret this as support for government key escrow.  Check your facts
before slandering people.

Jonathan Wienke