[86875] in Cypherpunks
US Crypto Laws cripple Euros
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Robert Hettinga)
Sat Sep 20 17:57:09 1997
Date: Sat, 20 Sep 1997 17:07:50 -0400
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
From: Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>
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U.S. Crypto Laws Cripple Euros, Expert Says
(09/17/97; 5:00 p.m. EDT)
By Douglas Hayward, TechWire
[Image]
CAMBRIDGE, England -- The U.S. government's Related
strategy of monitoring the computer networks Stories:
of hostile governments is damaging the
communications infrastructure of its allies, The
a leading encryption expert said. Governme=
n t
Eyes
The American enthusiasm for using Encrypti=
o n
"information warfare" strategies has resulted
in a weakening of the U.K. and European Capitol =
H ill
civilian communications, said Ross Anderson, Girds Fo=
r Key
an academic at Cambridge University, at the Clashes =
O ver
International Symposium on Economic Crime Encrypti=
o n
held in Cambridge, England, on Tuesday.
Computer
Information warfare -- the act of monitoring Industry
or sabotaging an enemy's communications and Riled Up=
Over
computing infrastructure -- gained widespread FBI Chie=
f 's
attention during the Gulf War when the U.S. Suggesti=
o n
military hacked its way into Iraqi
communication networks. FBI Insi=
s ts
On Crypt=
o
Anderson was a co-author of a highly critical Access
report published in May that attacked the
Clinton administration's encryption export Criminal
control policies. The report, written by a Informat=
i on
group of encryption experts, said an attempt On The W=
i res
to prevent users from getting access to
uncontrolled encryption products would result [*] =3D =
L ink to
in substantial sacrifices in security and
cost. our
tech
The Clinton encyclop=
e dia
-------------------administration, advised for more
"We have to by the U.S. National info.
question the Security Agency (NSA), [Image]
wisdom of wants to be able to
introducing continue monitoring the
weaknesses into communications of
our national potentially hostile
infrastructures." countries or groups. To
-- Ross Anderson do this, it wants to
Cambridge prevent these groups from
University using unbreakable
-------------------encryption programs.
This policy, dubbed Offensive, means the U.S.
government insists on maintaining strict
controls over the export and use of
encryption to ensure that hostile governments
and groups don't get access to strong [[Image]
encryption tools.
But this NSA-backed policy on restricting the
spread of strong encryption software has held
back the development of secure commercial and
governmental communications networks in
Europe, Anderson said.
Civilian communications networks whose
security has been weakened as a result of
U.S. policy include the Europewide Global
System for Mobile Communications telephone
networks, commercial banking networks, and
television broadcasting.
"We have to question the wisdom of
introducing weaknesses into our national
infrastructures," Anderson said. Europeans
are going to have to take more control over
industrial aspects of encryption, he said,
and develop policies with less input from the
people in the Pentagon.
"In the long term, the United Kingdom and its
European partners have to start thinking
carefully about the defensive vs. offensive
aspects of this business, Anderson said. "The
time is right for a fundamental realignment
of resources in this field."
Restrictions on encryption use mean the
British Patent Office has to use a weak form
of encryption when communicating with its
counterparts overseas, Anderson said. "They
use the size of keys I give to my students to
break as exercises," Anderson said.
The result is that highly confidential
information, including very valuable details
of intellectual property, can be intercepted
and decoded, he said. [TW]
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Robert Hettinga (rah@shipwright.com), Philodox
e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
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