(none)

17 Dec 2003

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In article <2r9h97$oro@nyx10.cs.du.edu>, Alex Strasheim wrote:
...
I have been reading nothing but complaints ever since the planned release 
of 2.6 was announced.
With good reason. It's a bullshit product.
...
It is true that messages generated with 2.6 won't be decodable with some
earlier versions, including 2.3a.
And most likely 2.4 as well, although that's a horse of a
different color.
...
It is also true that 2.6 can't be exported with RSAREF code.
Not quite. It's not *legal* to export it. But to say that it
"can't be exported" is simply untrue. It "can" be exported,
and easily at that. However, I doubt there will be much
demand for it, in or out of the us. It is slower than 2.3a,
has unreasonable limits on keysize, and is not backwards
compatable with the versions much of the world uses.
...
This means that it will not be possible, at
first, to use 2.6 to correspond with users who are not in the US or 
Canada.
Or with users in the usa or canada who choose to use 2.3a.
(and possibly 2.4 as well? Any confirm or deny on this one?)
...
But this will be a temporary condition.  There are precedents for 
exporting code into which foreign users can plug their own crypto 
engines.  This is probably what will happen with PGP:  programmers 
outside of the US will develop code which duplicates the functionality of 
the RSAREF engine, and a non-US version of PGP, functionally equivilant 
to the American version, will be made available to users who don't have 
access to the US version.
A total waste of time. Any 'foreign users' who wish it will
be able to get a copy of 2.6 in short order. But that's
still not going to change the fact that it's not a
worthwhile program.
...
The word to describe what has happened is "compromise".  The PGP 
developers, along with MIT, were able to reach a compromise with RSADSI 
and PKP.  Yes, they had to give some things up.  But in exchange, they 
were able to secure the right to legally distribute, for free, an open 
source version of PGP in the USA.
The word to describe what has happened is "disaster". It is
a deliberate attempt to fragment the international crypto
community.
...
This is an enormous victory.  It is the end, in practical terms, of the 
struggle to put strong, verifiable, and affordable crypto software into 
the hands of the general public.  It's over, and we have won.
It will be "over" when I can use whatever encryption I
choose to protect my communication, without the requirement
of government of corperate 'approval' to avoid "legal trouble"
...
The thing that bothers me the most about the complaints which have been 
posted is that they are implicity, if not explicity, condemnations of the 
compromise which PRZ and MIT negotiated.
I _explicitly_ condemn the _decisions_ of whoever wrote the
damn program to:
        1)disallow keys bigger than 1024bits
        2)remove backwards-compatable operation
...
I think that PRZ deserves the
benefit of the doubt.  He's the one who has put himself on the line for 
the rest of us, and he's the one who is most responsible for raising 
public awareness of crypto issues.  I'm not suggesting that we follow him 
blindly;  but at the same time, if he thinks this is a good deal, that 
ought to carry a lot of weight.
I have not yet heard prz's position regarding the
limitations on pgp version 2.6, however if he supports it I
simply disagree with him.

Happy Hunting, -Chris
______________________________________________________________________________
Christian Douglas Odhner     | "The NSA can have my secret key when they pry
cdodhner @ indirect.com      | it from my cold, dead, hands... But they shall
pgp 2.3 public key by finger | NEVER have the password it's encrypted with!"
cypherpunks         WOw            dCD           Traskcom          Team Stupid
  Key fingerprint =  58 62 A2 84 FD 4F 56 38  82 69 6F 08 E4 F1 79 11 
- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 A government mandante for key-escrow encryption in all communication
 devices would be the information-age equivalent of the government requiring
 private citizens to quarter troups in their home.

 --David Murray

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(none)

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