In the October issue of Cryptologia, Louis Kruh reviews the "Crypto Rebels" article by Stephen Levy that appeared in Wired. Shawn smo@gnu.ai.mit.edu Article liberated without permission. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cryptologia. Vol. XV11, Number 4 (October 1993)
From the column "Reviews and Things Cryptologic" by Louis Kruh.
Crypto Rebels Write-Up [Wired 1.2] Wired is a new magazine aimed at the "Digital Generation." The cover story in its second issue examines the growing "Cypherpunk" movement to insure individual privacy. According to the author, Cypherpunks believe that all information about an individual belongs to that person and opinions, medical records, personal data collected by local, state or national governmental agencies, communications sent by the individual or any other information should be available only if the person involved chooses to reveal it. And the means through which this privacy would be maintained is by the widespread use of virtually unbreakable public-key cryptography. Opposing forces are U.S. government agencies who seek to insure their ability to read public-key encrypted messages by the continuance of electronic surveillance and by having access to public-key cryptography's secret keys when authorized by a judge. The author suggests that the government cryptologic monopoly was destroyed in 1975 when Whitfield Diffie created public-key cryptography. His later work with Martin Hellman is recounted along with the implementation of the Diffie-Hellman system by three MIT computer scientists who founded RSA Data Security to market their patented algorithms. A well known figure in academic crypto circles, Georgetown Professor Dorothy Denning, counters Cypherpunk beliefs by pointing out that "Organized Crime leaders, drug dealers, terrorists, and other criminals could conspire and act with impunity" if electronic surveillance was illegal and authorized agencies did not have access to private keys used in public-key cryptography. The article explores many views and contains a great deal of fascinating information. ----------------------------------------------------------------------