17 Dec
2003
17 Dec
'03
11:17 p.m.
ObNit: As has been said before by others, there's more to Clipper/EES than just the Skipjack algorithm. I think simply asking if "the [Skipjack] algorithm contains a deliberately encoded weakness" leaves too much room for a "truthful" No answer.
I'm not sure what the NSA policy is on this. However, at that same conference Jim Settle from the FBI told us plainly that he is allowed to lie, and that the courts have confirmed this right. I doubt Baker would have confessed to a back door even if one existed and the question was complete.
And, then they get bummed out when the public doesn't _believe_ them.