Re: Bush administration DT/Clipper strategy

[tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)]

Many thanks to Jim G. for posting this. Several things caught my eye, but
I'll only comment on one:

" XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  The Justice view is that we should
 carefully press ahead and try to obtain a solution now.  Justice
 contends that the costs of waiting (loss of access and the cost
 to recoup) are growing rapidly, and an attempt to fix it now is
 worth the political risks."

Considering that this was written in early 1992, I think we (and others)
have done quite well to help stall this scheme for the past several years;
the black eyes gotten by the fumbled Clipper I and Clipper II schemes have
delayed and possibly derailed any hope for controlling both digital
telephony and encrytion.

(The document mentions going after digital telephony first, then tacking
the encryption problem. Whatever one thinks of the needs or issues, this
should make it clear that controlling crypto was a plan, not just the
"public consumption" story of Clipper as a purely voluntary phone system
for government contractors and the like.)

The "race to the fork in the road," aka the point of no return, is
underway. I think it is actually already too late to control crypto...too
many packages already released, too many degrees of freedom in
communication, too much "anarchy" in the Net.

If we can keep NSA and the other TLA intelligence agencies in a state of
confusion and missteps for another two years, I think the war will largely
be over. (Not in digital money and banking, for other and more complicated
reasons, but in the area of unbreakable communications.)

--Tim May



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Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
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