At that time, snail mail was pretty safe even from the spooks (with certain
precautions). So what's your point? If the military-industrial complex
wants to ruin your life, it's the guns and fences and dogs that ultimately
tell the story, cause your unbreakable cipher to be compromised yourself
under truth drugs, etc. The bureaucractic mess surrounding key recovery
would probably make most spooks look for much more low-tech methods of
compromising your security.
-----Original Message-----
From: Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM
I just saw a very interesting story on the Discovery Channel.
In 1953 the US was actively pursuing bio warfare (a subject of current interest to me). Frank Olson was a good bacteriologist working for the gubmint (NIH?), in close contact with the CIA. One night he attended a work-related party, where everyone acted strangely; the next day, he a) decided to resign his job, b) discussed his classified bio warfare work with people on his car pool. But the gubmint didn't accept his resignation and instead sent him to NYC for a psychiatric evaluation. He was sharing a hotel room with a CIA employee, who claims that he was woken up the sound of breaking glass: Frank Olson supposedly jumped out the window.
In 1975 it was revealed that at the party the attendees were given LSD without their concent as part of a CIA experiment, which is why everyone was acting strangely. Pres Ford issued an official apology to Olson's family and gave them $750,000 in compensation.
Now there's a new twist. In 1953, the gubmint insisted that Olson be buried in a closed casket, claiming he had cuts and bruises on his face. The family never saw him. In 1994 his son has the body exhumed and re-examined. There were no cuts and bruises, but forensic evidence suggests very strongly that he was hit with something over the head and then thrown out the window. The NYC DA has now started a murder investigation.
This has little crypto relevance, except for the bio warfare angle, and the question: do you want these guys to have access to your cryptographic keys?
---
Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps