[12152] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: Clipper and Aldrich Ames
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Mark R. Ludwig)
Sat May 7 12:17:49 1994
To: bzs@world.std.com (Barry Shein)
Cc: bryon@boa.meaddata.com, com-priv@psi.com
In-Reply-To: <199404260154.AA04309@world.std.com>
from "Barry Shein" on Mon, 25 Apr 1994 21:54:02 EDT.
Date: Tue, 26 Apr 1994 08:55:05 -0700
From: "Mark R. Ludwig" <Mark-Ludwig@uai.com>
>>>>> On Mon, 25 Apr 1994 21:54:02 -0400, bzs@world.std.com (Barry Shein) said:
B> Unless I'm missing something it doesn't make sense. I suppose the
B> paranoid side of me says if this story is fundamentally true then
B> there was a known, universal trap-door that was revealed. Swell.
One has to wonder why the government is keeping the algorithms and
manufacturing details secret.
Those things are supposed to be irrelevant if there are no back doors,
because the strength of the encryption is supposed to be based on the
number of bits taking part in the transformation. DES is a fine
example of this. It's well-known, and at 56(?) bits, it's pretty weak
against fast computers.
Whoever first said:
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
gets my vote in this case. I think the NSA built in a back door.$$
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