Mok-Kong Shen wrote:
John Young wrote:
The Guardian article is probably not as good as the real thing :-) and so I've quoted excerpts from it here. The full document is on: http://www.irlgov.ie/tec/html/signat.htm (John, it would be better to quote the actual document on your page as the Guardian article is only a limited view.) Ira Magaziner was in negotiation with the Irish government over this and some meetings were held in secret. I am still trying to get all the facts on this one. <quote> · Users shall have the right to access strong and secure encryption to ensure the confidentiality, security and reliability of stored data and electronic communications. · Users shall have the right to choose any cryptographic method. · The production, import and use of encryption technologies in Ireland shall not be subject to any regulatory controls other than obligations relating to lawful access. · The export of cryptographic products is to continue to be regulated in accordance with the relevant EU Regulations and Decisions and Irish national legislation which reflect the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Dual-Use Goods and Technologies and Conventional Arms. </quote> This one is worrying as the gobshites in the EC are capable of really banjaxing the situation. Since EU Directives are law when they are published, they could well cause a bit of legal conflict. Under EU legislation, at least one of my books could be banned. <quote> · In order to enable lawful access to encrypted data, legislation will be enacted to oblige users of encryption products to release, in response to a lawful authorisation, either plaintext which verifiably relates to the encrypted data in question or the keys or algorithms necessary to retrieve the plaintext. Appropriate sanctions will be put in place in respect of failure to comply. </quote> This seems to be carefully considered in that the user could be asked to prove the encrypted document contains the encrypted form of the plaintext. But the most important thing is that a search warrant would be required to force the user to give up the plaintext or the key. Surprisingly it could be interpreted so that the user only has to prove the link rather than giving up his or her key. <quote> 2. Electronic Signatures · Legislation will be enacted to facilitate the use of electronic signatures through the establishment of a framework for the authorisation of bodies to act as nationally accredited Certification Authorities. </quote> This is unusual - could this mean that each Irish citizen would have their own Cert/sig? Everyone who works in Ireland or avails of any state services seems to have an RSI number (just like the SS number in the US). They introduced mag strip cards for unemployment benefits a few years ago. I am currently working on an article about this proposal on crypto and will post it when I finish it. Regards...jmcc -- ******************************************** John McCormac * Hack Watch News jmcc@hackwatch.com * 22 Viewmount, Voice: +353-51-873640 * Waterford, BBS&Fax: +353-51-850143 * Ireland http://www.hackwatch.com/~kooltek ******************************************** -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6 mQCNAzAYPNsAAAEEAPGTHaNyitUTNAwF8BU6mF5PcbLQXdeuHf3xT6UOL+/Od+z+ ZOCAx8Ka9LJBjuQYw8hlqvTV5kceLlrP2HPqmk7YPOw1fQWlpTJof+ZMCxEVd1Qz TRet2vS/kiRQRYvKOaxoJhqIzUr1g3ovBnIdpKeo4KKULz9XKuxCgZsuLKkVAAUX tCJKb2huIE1jQ29ybWFjIDxqbWNjQGhhY2t3YXRjaC5jb20+tBJqbWNjQGhhY2t3 YXRjaC5jb20= =sTfy -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----