Sandy Sandfort looks on the bright side. Unfortunately, I can't agree with him. He writes:
FIRST, THE BAD NEWS--The government wants to control encryption. Though they are playing coy about it, it's clear that eventually they will try to ban "the good stuff." It's clear Zimmermann, and others, have gotten their attention.
NOW, THE GOOD NEWS--I t d o e s n o t m a t t e r. The game is over. We won. The government may engage in holding actions, but it still doesn't matter. What we have here, is the State's pitiful attempt to make the best of a bad situation. This amazing "policy" announcement is a tacit admission of defeat.
HOW CAN I BE SO SURE?--The cat is out of the bag. Free, mil spec data encryption is readily available to all. Within a year, equivalent voice encryption freeware will join it. There is no way the government can stuff the encryption cat back in the bag. They can pass their laws. We will do as we please--and they will help us. ...rest of post elided....
Drugs are freely available on nearly every inner city street corner. The "cat is out of the bag," as you say. And yet.... - the War on (Some) Drugs.... - mandatory hard time for first offenses (ask the Santa Cruz kid doing 10 years without parole for possession of some amount of acid...the weight of the blotter paper kicked it up to the 10-year level) - civil forfeiture... "We find a roach, we get your yacht." - midnight raids, often killing innocent citizens (ask the Malibu retired guy who got zapped by the Feds...turns out they'd already greedily started to divvy up his land to various parks...and of course he was totally innocent--and now dead) - "D.A.R.E."-type brainwashing of children, encouraging them to turn in their parents ...and so on. You should all know about these things, on this of all days (16 April 1943, 50 years ago, was the discovery of LSD). Restricting crypto means the government has a big club they use to threaten, intimidate, force cooperation, etc. Just like with taxes, drugs, and everything else they control. Under the civil forfeiture laws, my assets (which I depend on to live out the rest of my life on!!) could be seized if the government suspects I'm using "illegal crypto." Not under current laws, but certainly under the laws that follow from the "Clinton Clipper." Anyone with assets to seize--a house, a business, a stock account--becomes a fair target.
But never doubt it, W E H A V E W O N.
No, but we haven't lost yet. -Tim -- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^756839 | Public Key: MailSafe and PGP available.