From: newsbytes@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.nb.general
Subject: Kahn Sees On-Going Battle On Cryptography 06/14/93
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 14 (NB) -- David Kahn,
author of "The Codebreakers", speaking at the Third CPSR
Cryptography Conference, told those assembled that he sees an on-
going battle between government and privacy advocates over personal
and business uses of cryptography.
Kahn began by saying "My thesis is that the growth of cryptography
follows the growth of communication. When there was little literacy,
writing itself was a form of cryptography"
"A great leap forward came in World War I -- the use of radio
brought the need for greater use of codes to insure the privacy of
messages. In the fall out after the war, the use of cipher machines
was attempted but this approach was not really practical until
computers came along," he added.
According to Khan, in recent times, interest in cryptography has
grown dramatically. "When the RSA algorithm was mentioned in
Scientific American, there were 5,000 requests for reprints of the
article; the story "Ultra Secret" about the breaking of the Germans'
code raised interest and threats such as computer "hackers", viruses
and cellular phone fraud raised additional interest in cryptography
and the protection of privacy," he said.
Kahn then moved to his Antithesis: "(The) Government wants to stop the
movement toward privacy. (The) Government wants to know about
criminal and terrorists. It tries to accomplish this objective
through such things as export controls and the Clipper & Capstone
chips," he told the audience.
"The Government sees its activity. not as an additional intrusion
into individual privacy. but as an attempt to maintain the present
state. However, the domain of individual rights has been expanding --
the Miranda warnings, abortion decisions and the more strident
avocation of privacy rights are examples of this trend," he said.
"The Government moves are trying to block the advance of privacy
rather than intrude into present rights. Export limits inhibits
business expansion," he added.
Kahn concluded: "Now we have to look for the synthesis. It's a
matter of "privacy is good" and "business profits are good" versus
"security is good." The question that must be answered is how to
balance these goods. Do we give up the first for the second?"
"The World Trade Center bombing shows that terrorism is here and is
a concern. Government wants to hold back technology. This can't be
done forever but can be done for a while. Government will argue that
the temporary holding back will save some lives and properties," he
said.
In the question and answer period that followed, Bill Murray,
consultant to Deloite and Touche, commented: "When the government
wants us to give up the right to private communications, it must
show us the danger (that warrants it). If drug dealers and
terrorists are the problem, it should be demonstrated that drug
dealers and terrorists are abusing private communications."
In response to a Newsbytes question as to whether the triumph of the
expansion of privacy rights over government concerns was inevitable,
Kahn said: "Privacy is to powerful a force to be stopped. It will
eventually prevail."
Ross Stapleton, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst,
commented: "These changes in information may cause a rethinking of
the concept of national sovereignty. Governments have always have
tried to control the flow of information; with the new technology
and communications capabilities, they cannot. control it any
longer."
Murray said: "We cannot control it but we can criminalize it and
that would be a mistake. By criminalizing drugs, we have
destabilized society. There is so much illegal money from this
policy that courts, law enforcement departments and legislatures
have been corrupted."
Asked by Newsbytes if he saw illegal money growing if the government
tries to rein in the growth of cryptography or tries to make
wiretapping more pervasive, Murray said: "No, it's not analogous in
the money sense. But the criminalizing of anything without real
justification causes destabilization."
(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19930614/Press Contact:
David Banisar, Computer Professionals For Social Responsibility,
202-544-9240 (voice); 202-547-5481 (fax); banisar@washofc.cpsr.org
on the Internet)
"Copyright 1993 by