VACCINIA@UNCVX1.OIT.UNC.EDU sez:
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Jeremy@crl.com writes:
Now why bother going through all the trouble to take out the chip? Why not just leave it in there and send RSA encrypted over your phone line? Once they _DO_ decrypt your clipper, they will still have another barrier. Leaving the chip in there does make it a little harder even for law enforcement doesn't it?
This is the reason all other forms of encryption will be outlawed if the clipper proposal goes through.
I do not think so. It is perceived at very high levels that this simply won't fly. Y'all have been pretty effective at creating an initial negative impression within the press that is being accepted by John and Jane Q. public. Congrats. It is felt that already there has been too much bad press to counteract even with good arguments. If it happens I don't think it will be a matter of legislation but executive order that will stand the scrutiny of private consultation with congress and the flak this early publicity will generate. The latter is just a guess but I do know that the Clipper proponents are not at all encouraged and feel the need for it in the most sincere and concerned ways for what I think are very good reasons. Personally I don't think they will do anything to prevent our opening Pandora's Box simply because they are outflanked and know it but they have considered things they can't say in public that are creating much fear not only within this government but quite recently among many governments. It is not dope dealers or racketeers these governments are worried about.
I foresee at least two lines of enforcement. The first is that one is held in contempt of court (assuming they can find some charges to press) until you give them your key. How long can they keep you in the slammer on a contempt charge? This option is already available and seems to work, at least so far.
This could work except that if exchanges are interactive so that a D-H type protocol can be used to generate one time session keys, using the RSA PK's only to do this securely, then yielding one's private key gives no ability to decrypt any prior interactive sessions. For documents this line of enforcement could work but for conversation it is useless.
The second is to make alternate encryption illegal and thus they will get you even if they have no evidence to charge you with. After all, if the police are monitering you AND you are encrypting information, you must be guilty, right? Encryption will be enough evidence to convict. This makes life easy for law enforcement and will surely be the next step after clipper.
Except that if you use Clipper too they will have no reason to suspect that you might be using something hard going into it until they have done the escrow thing and by then you are probably in pretty deep anyway if the escrow method works as described and probably guilty of something pretty serious. There really is a strong argument from their side that says if one must use a form that is immune from a compromise like well escrowed keys one is *way* more than likely to be discussing something most of us would want LE or NS to know about. I know that argument is anathema here but I am finding it more and more compelling. Peace, Bob -- Bob Cain rcain@netcom.com 408-354-8021 "I used to be different. But now I'm the same." --------------PGP 1.0 or 2.0 public key available on request.------------------