Declan McCullagh wrote:
... Restricting strong anonymity means key escrow.)
Perhaps I overstated my argument above. It seems to me that if the Feds want to restrict strong anonymity, they have some choices:
<<the choices>>
Anything else?
Routinely monitor communications lines. Allow unlimited data collection for traffic analysis. Allow monitoring of content. Make the use of crypto prima facie evidence of criminal intent. (Begin a public awareness campaign comparing having crypto on your computer to walking around a parking lot with a slim-jim.) Allow seizure of hardware or black bag bugging. To show we're tough on cyber-criminals, we'll allow it without a judge's signature. This hits a lot more than anonymity, of course, but it's for the chiiiildren. Require ISPs to get a license to operate. Terms can be set arbitrarily high. (Bonus points if you make them pay for the monitoring hardware, software, and governmental labor.) Require (though allowing might be enough) telcos to place limits on the kind of traffic that may pass over their wires. If a block doesn't have full headers identifying source and destination (both of which must be registered with some, uh, registry) it can't pass. Mandate IPv6, with the embedded MAC address or whatever they were going to put in it. Processor IDs, a la P-III, which must be encoded in all sorts of traffic. Don't allow unsigned email; require that all internet users get a signing certificate from the Post Office, which of course can tie certs to computer IDs, TrueNames, and land address. In general, look at what China is doing. Britain and Russia, too. About a year ago I put some work into a book, _Crashing the Web_ (working title, of course). It focused on governmental or corporate options to kill the Wild Wild West. I abandoned the book around December when someone, I forgot who, came out with a book covering much of the same ground. I might be able to resurrect some of my notes and early drafts, but they were probably lost to my boneheaded drive wipe six months ago. (Yes, I make backups. Yes, I encrypt my backups. No, I don't necessarily remember the passwords. Yes, I'm a retard.) Drop me a line if you'd like me to rummage around. Thanks a lot. I was about to go to bed, and now I'll have Big Brotherish dreams. -- Steve Furlong, Computer Condottiere Have GNU, will travel 518-374-4720 sfurlong@acmenet.net