Note that it is slightly easier to break this encryption than the 128 bit encryption with 68 bits sent in the clear used by Netscape.
I think in general that any steps taken to reduce the amount of information avaliable. I'm happier if only the US government has access to the extra 28 bits of privacy than if everyone does. That is not to say that I am happy.
Of course, if someone patches the program to incorrectly encrypt the 28 bits for the government, it will be transparent until some nasty TLA tries decrypting the key. This was the same problem that existed with the Clipper LEAF, if I recall correctly, in that systems with hacked LEAF fields interoperated perfectly with unmodified ones. -- Mike Duvos $ PGP 2.6 Public Key available $ mpd@netcom.com $ via Finger. $