Jim Bidzos of RSA informs me that Capstone does in fact use public key methods, and that his company will presumably receive royalty payments. (I remember this being discussd, now. The government itself has royalty-free access to the various public key patents, so I understand, but corporations selling equipement using the patents would presumably have to negotiate their own deals.) On another matter, I saw in the April 19th issue of "Network World," the headline on the front page: "Clinton security plan hints of Big Brother," with the subtitle: "Clipper Chip would let government eavesdrop on encrypted voice and data communications." The article is by Ellen Messmer. Along with the usual quotes from the White House announcement came this curious admission from an AT&T manager when asked why anyone, especially a criminal or terrorist, would use a tappable phone when alternatives exist. ---begin quote--- "A criminal probably wouldn't use it," said Mike Agee, marketing manager for secure products at AT&T, adding that the Clipper Chip is for the rest of the world. ---end quote--- Now I've heard several explanations for Clipper, ranging from buying market share to the stupidity of criminals (i.e., criminals _could_ buy non-Clipper alternatives under the current plan, but in practice they're too stupid to). Assuming non-Clipper encryption remains legal, why Clipper? It just occurred to me that perhaps the government is primarily interested in tapping its *own* phones! Not necessarily as part of a paranoid conspiracy plan, but because of the graft and bribery cases that keep coming up, such as the Defense Department scandals uncovered by Operatin Ill Wind a few years back. Ditto for "leaks" from offices. The Powers That Be may have looked at the coming age of untappable phones and concluded that at least they make sure they could tap the phones of those in government and defense contractors and suppliers, who will be the only ones actually _required_ to buy the Clipperphones. (Under the precise wording of the White House announcement; we can all still worry that this move is preparatory to wider restrictions.) Lest you think I'm becoming like David Sternlight and looking for the silver lining in every government move, I'm only floating this as a minor wrinkle on why the Clipperphones may be being deployed so quickly. --Tim -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^756839 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available.