-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Perry writes:
Why is he our patron saint? He was a government official coming out against invasion of privacy. Isn't that what we are all after, in the end? The reason we deploy cryptography is to assure privacy for all. We often refer to those who listen in on conversations (regardless of who they are) as, in some sense, our opposition. Therefore, is not Stimson's remark in closing down Yardley's "Black Chamber" to be praised rather than attacked?
At the risk of sounding like an NSA apologist, I have to take issue with Perry's position on this matter. I see a distinct difference between broad monitoring of a nation's citizens and focused signals intelligence gathering in support of national security. The Black Chamber was not out to subvert the national communications infrastructure, or prevent citizens from obtaining or developing cryptographic tools. The Black Chamber was there to cryptanalyze traffic from _governments_. In other words, I see a distinction between Intelligence activities and Law Enforcement activities. Yes, I recognize that there is a gray area where the two overlap; I believe, however, that signals intelligence is still a necessary evil in the global environment. Just saying, "Oh heck, we don't some of the things the NSA does," and dismantling it is a bit unrealistic, isn't it? Cheers, Phil -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMQf3cX6yjLZHwr45AQGokQQApYsv5k1xY7AiMga30+NEPfdogSkIyoQj 8F1b9ZWCqUP7WIdjXUUVttQkpzlm2+v3NMMKp3sbsyLgf/sA+5sqO/S4C1HrKYdv UbqvnwpxDQpwZxPvsoV7exTqvWrvSj4sNl3Ea09OxcJUVVzwnEgZBKupLW63Ju60 nQ3A8x9qK5I= =Nbyu -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----