Largely of interest to the Australian -- can we be counted on one hand ? :-) -- audience. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- *PRESS RELEASE* *PRESS RELEASE* *PRESS RELEASE* tales from the crypt =============================================== `There's nothing new about cryptography' ... Bill Caelli. ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio National `Radio Eye -- Documentary Features' Sunday Night, June 12th 8:20pm ... presents ... ``TALES FROM THE CRYPT'' Rosie Cross <rx1@sydgate.apana.org.au> & Matthew Gream <M.Gream@uts.edu.au> (Mixed by John Jacobs) (Sounds by Rob Joyner Jnr) `Cryptography is a very political technology' says Phil Zimmermann, author of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), a computer software program to scramble and protect your most vital electronic messages. Complex algorithms such as those used in PGP now give individuals the ability to carry out conversations locked away from the prying eyes of the most determined Law Enforcement and National Security Agencies. Fearing a widespread loss of effectiveness, these agencies had their wishes granted last year with the US Governments release of the electronic `Clipper Chip'. This insidious device, to be planted in phones and facsimiles, may scramble voice and data between both ends of a connection, but contains a backdoor so these agencies can retain their surveillance edge. Despite assurances by the Government and proponents of the scheme such as leading cryptographer Dorothy Denning, the reaction has been clearly negative as evidenced by echos of dissent across cypherspace. These assurances are easily refuted by John Perry Barlow from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Dave Banisar from the now Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC) [*], representing two of the most active groups opposing Clipper. Viewed from the Australian perspective, Jennifer Seberry describes the Clipper proposal as applying `an atomic bomb, where a drop of ointment is needed' and Trudi McIntosh describes a Government looking on `with interest'. To Roger Clarke, an Australian expert on privacy issues and new technologies, Clipper seems unlikely, but he warns about complacency in his assessment of the possible ramifications for individuals in electronic societies where systematic surveillance and mass matching could serve as a tool of the totalitarian state. In protecting ourselves from an Orwellian society, the need to extend the physical concepts of anonymity into the information world become of increasing importance. The work of David Chaum towards Digital Cash, and truly anonymous payment systems can steer the information superhighways past the military-industrial complex. In the end, the issue isn't about `cryptography', it's about fundamental rights to privacy and freedom from arbitrary intrusion by an increasingly hostile state. --- [*] Formally with Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.3a iQBVAgUBLfGDssFkzaa0vXnhAQFW4wH/Sa8KlS92O8plZO0nO1rnrXTF3IWMu7JD T8rVRLm8wunBzwt6DDGMzKPTMAMB/MOpjqISz+wFvKcV6UeyofLRiA== =WVKl -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.3a mQBNAi3xQ7gAAAECALAfA6WqWIqRBhvq6gKDVPKYAoEAO7Zr2C1/fYUOtTdxz7d6 uvmKRBzEV+Sys7Blf1ja4gioX46KwWTNprS9eeEABRO0JlRhbGVzIEZyb20gdGhl IENyeXB0IC0tIFJhZGlvIE5hdGlvbmFsiQCVAgUQLfFDy5lab34em41tAQF1ngQA u66CMVni7n5LRLqAISxYC9gWC7/AU9l8MYaYvR7D91OcAIzfyCGvJBGGEedSnURh q8mPSy43E1n4c0ihBhLlfvvU3ABFLqvCOwznkJjqWqC7XckJRZVJceaniGyf9KE1 scx1IgvpdjDPVvrLOifwEBbzctv8OU6QcB+2ejvKfQM= =dZMI -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- -- Matthew Gream Consent Technologies Sydney, (02) 821-2043 M.Gream@uts.edu.au