[10096] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: R.I.P -- Privacy '94
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (John Galloway)
Mon Feb 7 08:51:34 1994
From: John Galloway <jrg@rahul.net>
To: 0003858921@mcimail.com (Robert G. Moskowitz)
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 1994 05:47:29 -0800 (PST)
Cc: brock@well.sf.ca.us, com-priv@psi.com
In-Reply-To: <84940207124648/0003858921NA5EM@mcimail.com> from "Robert G. Moskowitz" at Feb 7, 94 07:46:00 am
Reply-To: jrg@galloway.sj.ca.us
>
> >The White House Friday announced its endorsement of a sweeping new
> >security and privacy initiative. Privacy, as we know it, will
> >never be the same. All the rules have changed. Forever. The catch
> >is that the government gets to write all the rules; you get no
> >vote. None. Worse, you can't even read the fucking rule book
> >because it's classified.
>
> Brook,
>
> What is to stop us from deploying things like PEM and triple DES on our own?
> Is the government announcing the ourlawing of these technologies? Remember,
> PEM is a slimmed down version of X.509 that according to many 'has the
> weight of international treaty'.
>
The only way clipper/skipjack can accomplish their goal of allowing wiretaps
(at telco COs) to remain useful, is if it is made illegal to communicate
using any encryption system other than clipper/skipjack. Its not just devices,
using a sw only scheme would have to be outlawed as well. Using another
system on top of clipper/skipjack would also have to be illegal. Further
the only way (that I can see) to enforce such laws will be to make continuous
and massive "observations" of the communications infrastructure. Such vigerous
enforcement would seem to be needed such that you would have a reasonably good
chance of having a target tapee not be breaking the encryption law (i.e. the
whole point of wiretapping is to observe withOUT the target knowing about it.
If you have to arrest him first for breaking the encryption law, then you
will not find out whatever it was you wanted to writetap for in the first
place). The feds seem to dance around these issues by saying that they have
no plans to make other systems illegal, but also that they are not sure that
possesing unbreakable encryption devices is constitutionally protected
(which of course ignores the sw only method). The big (and nasty) brother
aspects of all this is enhanced by the fact that at lest some of the funding
for the project (at Justice) has come from asset forfeture so it does not
(or at least has not always) come under yearly congressional budget review.
Also the lineage of the project can be traced back to some degree to the
NSA, the most secretive of federal agencies and the one with the most
wiretap expertise.
I don't mean to be rambling, there are usenet groups on these issues, but
some com-priv subscribers seemed to be new to the subject so theres an intro.
I used to be in the "oh come on your being paranoid" camp, and now have
moved over to the "uh oh, this is really really bad" side.
Clipper did get about 10 secs of air time on (I think) CBS news the other day
but I have seen no real discussion of the issues and dangers in the main
stream press. Call/write/email your congress-folk, this needs (in my
view anyway) to be stopped.
-jrg
--
internet jrg@galloway.sj.ca.us John R. Galloway, Jr 795 Beaver Creek Way
applelink D3413 CEO...receptionist San Jose, CA 95133
Galloway Research (408) 259-2490
