[578] in Best-of-Security
BoS: INET: GILC: Crypto Survey Released
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Danny Yee)
Fri Feb 27 19:53:45 1998
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From: danny@cs.su.oz.au (Danny Yee)
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 12:47:29 +1000
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Electronic Frontiers Australia is the Australian member of
GILC. The chair of the EFA Cryptography Committee, Mr Greg
Taylor, and the EFA media spokesperson, Mr Danny Yee, are
available for comment on the GILC survey.
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Greg Taylor Danny Yee
Phone: 07 3370 6362 Phone: 02 9955 9898 (h) 02 9351 5159 (w)
Email: gtaylor@gil.com.au danny.yee@efa.org.au
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Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc -- http://www.efa.org.au/
representing Internet users concerned with on-line freedoms
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FEBRUARY 9, 1998
Contact:
David L. Sobel
+1-202-544-9240
GILC Releases Crypto Survey
Finds Few Countries Restrict Technologies for Privacy
But Warns of New Efforts to Impose Controls
WASHINGTON - An international coalition of civil liberties
organizations has released the first comprehensive review of
cryptography policies around the globe. "Cryptography and
Liberty: An International Survey of Encryption Policy" is based on
a survey of more than two hundred countries and regions. The
purpose of the survey was to determine whether countries are
limiting the availability of new technologies that are used by
Internet users and others to protect personal privacy.
The survey was conducted by the Global Internet Liberty Campaign
(GILC). The GILC favors the unrestricted use of cryptography to
protect personal privacy. The group has urged national
governments not to adopt controls on the technology.
According to the GILC report, most countries in the world do not
have controls on the use of cryptography. "In the vast majority
of countries, cryptography may be freely used, manufactured and
sold without restriction." The report says that recent trends in
cryptography policy suggest greater liberalization in the use of
this technology, which was originally controlled during the Cold
War for reasons of national security.
A rough breakdown of the countries into five categories -- from
"Red" through "Yellow" to "Green" -- indicating how restrictive
the policies toward encryption are, found that most countries are
grouped toward the "Green" end of the spectrum, while a handful of
countries fall in the "Red" category. Those countries are
Belarus, China, Israel, Pakistan, Russia and Singapore.
The GILC report notes the "surprising" policies of the United
States, given that "virtually all of the other democratic,
industrial nations have few if any controls on the use of
cryptography." The report suggest that the U.S. position may be
explained by "the dominant role that state security agencies in
the United States hold in the development of encryption policy."
But the group warns that law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and
elsewhere will continue to push for an encryption "key management
infrastructure" that would expand electronic surveillance of
private communications. The group urges the development of a
public education campaign to inform various political, labor and
social groups on the benefits of and techniques for using
encryption.
GILC is an international coalition of civil liberties and human
rights organizations concerned with protection of political
liberty in the on-line world. GILC has members in more than
twenty countries, and maintains a web site at http://www.gilc.org/.
The GILC encryption survey is available on the Internet at:
http://www.gilc.org/crypto/crypto-survey.html
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