On Mon, 2 May 1994, Duncan Frissell wrote:
Two recent incidents in NYC show massive market failure in the information security industry.
You mean, marketing PGP to criminals?
One of the city's largest bookies was busted when the Feds intercepted the daily fax transmissions summarizing business results sent from his NY office to his Florida home.
A major cocaine dealer is facing prosecution based on written transaction records seized at his office. His simple code was broken by a "known plaintext attack" when investigators were able to match his written notations with transaction information derived from wiretaps.
Can't anyone help these people? Maybe 178th Street needs PGP and Secure Drive more than the PC Expo.
Be careful with this line of reasoning. If you market PGP to a crook for the explicit purpose of keeping his illegal activities hidden from the cops, you violate at least two different laws. It's like selling lock picks to a known burglar. You could be prosecuted for conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and whatever they call interference with a police investigation nowadays.