Consider the DMCA (US law) as compared to the Terrorism Act of 2000 (UK law). Both make it effectively illegal for ordinary citizens to own, use, or distribute any software capable of performing decrypts by exploiting a weak cryptographic system. The US and UK, not coincidentally, are the two governments with the largest known investments in SIGINT -- the famous Echelon System. If people started using strong cryptographic systems, Echelon would be effectively useless. Therefore it is in the best interests of these two governments to make weak cryptographic systems the norm insofar as they are able. This is possible by providing an additional layer of legal protection to users of weak cryptographic systems -- with software capable of exploiting such weaknesses effectively illegal to own or use, the developers of such products have drastically reduced incentive to develop strong cryptographic systems to replace them. The DMCA and the Terrorism Act appear to provide exactly such laws. What has been passed recently by the other signatories to the UKUSA agreement that created Echelon? Bear --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cryptography Mailing List Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to majordomo@wasabisystems.com