Re: WaPo on Crypto-Genie Terrorism

[Ray Arachelian <sunder@dorsai.dorsai.org>]

Oh, how utterly cool.  This being my 1st reply to Sterndark and in the 
same having managed to move him off the list.  Wheeeee! :)

Come on, you could do better than to run off...

On Tue, 30 Jul 1996, Da5id Sterndark wrote:

> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> 
> Preface: Having weathered the storm of personal attacks, I've concluded that
> most of what is on this list _right now_ is of insufficient interest to what
> I'm currently working on to continue, so I've unsubscribed (there's too much
> traffic to let it be). I will see the occasional posts copied to me and
> respond, Posts allegedly from me, if not signed, are forgeries until I post
> a signed notice that I have rejoined the list.
> 
> Thanks for putting up with my spamming flame-bait;
> Da5id
> 
> At 12:37 PM -0700 7/30/96, Ray Arachelian wrote:
> >On Mon, 29 Jul 1996, David Sterndark wrote:
> >
> >> Let those who passed basic English use the skills they were taught. Freeh
> >> said, and I repeated, that the system wasn't designed to prevent
> determined
> >> criminals from using robust crypto.
> >
> >Yes, and the implication is this: the system was designed to prevent law
> >abiding folk from using robust crypto, and to allow the TLA's and LEA's
> >to snoop on them.
> 
> Close. For "designed to prevent" read "not make available from the US", and
> for "folk" read "foreigners".
> 
> There's no earthly reason the US should assist foreigners in thwarting US
> intelligence efforts.

Right, but there's plenty of earthly reason for the government of these 
same United States to thwart the development of strong crypto, cause the 
loss of monies that would be made by software companies, cause security 
breeches in multi-homed companies by not allowing their offices to 
communicate securely over a strongly encrypted link.  This causes another 
equivalent of the Berlin wall in terms of crypto exporting.

Notice however that I didn't say Joe Sixpack was a foreigner or a criminal.  
You twisted this around to make it seem like he is.  Joe Sixpack is as 
American as apple pie and patriotic to boot.

So then if the laws are NOT designed to deter criminals (or foreginers)
from using strong crypto, WHY ARE THEY BEING PUSHED ON US?  Could this be
somehow a stupid idea on Freeh's part?  Nah, couldn't be.  Freeh's the
head of the Feebs.  That would be indication that the Feebs hire brainless
folk.  Nope.  Can't be.  Clearly it is because Freeh wants to snoop not on
criminals, but on the law-abiding citizens who pay his paycheck
"voluntarily" via taxes.

As wonderful as the postal inspector mailing kiddie porn to an unsuspecting 
victim, then arresting said victing when s/he opens up the package.  Gee, 
how nice it is to meet your arrest quotas, no?  But I digress.


Back to the ITAR and the proposed anti-crypto laws...

Nevermind that should a foreign agent wish to export RSA or PGP could
easily do so >LEGALLY< in a nice OCR'able font, or just have cheap labor 
type it.  Sure, tie the hands of the software developers so that 
they can't get their bread and butter from the foreign markets, while the
foreign markets can easily do so here since they can import and sell
crypto-software.

The ITARs only serve to cripple the USA ecconomy.  There's no informed NSA
or FBI that can believe otherwise because the other side does have all the
tools.  All they serve to achieve is to keep Joe Americancitizen Sixpack
away from his privacy, and Nancy Cryptowriter from her bread and butter.

What a wonderful law!  Don't you just love it?

> As readers know, I am opposed to mandatory domestic key escrow.

Ah, yet another repeat of the same tired credo you've pushed on this list 
for days now.  I've heard it, and okay, whatever.  But it's not the 
issue, and irrelevant to this discussion.

Are you for or against the removal of the ITAR in regards to crypto? ITARs
are not key escrow, though perhaps just as or almost as evil.



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 + ^ + |  Ray Arachelian |FL|       KAOS KERAUNOS KYBERNETOS      |==/|\==
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===================http://www.dorsai.org/~sunder/=========================
 Key Escrow Laws are the mating calls of those who'd abuse your privacy!