From my perch in Washington, I see PGP 5.5/CMR as an existence proof that key recovery can be done. So far the crypto-advocates have been able to wave around the Blaze et al white paper that says we don't know how to do it. Even Dorothy Denning agreed. But now when a mandatory GAK bill goes to
Adam, Sometimes it's useful to inject a bit of humor in every serious discussion. The relevance? Another example of Singapore's loony politics. Strict social controls and relative economic freedom. I find it fascinating in light of Net-filtering and other attempts at restricting information flow; if you don't, well, you can always delete it. :) As for CMR... I was travelling when the discussion started on cypherpunks so I haven't been following it very closely. My position is something along these lines: corporations have a right to go down the CMR path; it is unwise to restrict them through the coercive power of the state. At the same time, we need to speak out against crypto-foolish practices. If corporations start building CMR products, the political consequences could be devestating. It's like building a gallows for your own hanging. the House floor, all Rep. Solomon etc. have to do is wave around a shrinkwrapped copy of PGP and say: "I bought this for $19 at the Egghead shop at 21st and L." Details will be lost in the fearmongering. I suspect that there's not that substantial a market for CMR. The apparent market demand now is an artificial one created by the Clinton administration. -Declan