A short time ago, at a computer terminal far, far away, Frank Stuart wrote:
however, I think those in a position to do so should start with the spin control. Some suggestions:
The fact that even the U.S. Justice Department is unable to adequately protect it's own site from intruders underscores the need for widely- available strong encryption.
While this is certainly a major embarrassment for the Justice Department, at least the mandatory "key escrow" program the Clinton administration is insisting upon has not yet been implemented; no private citizens' data appears to have been compromised this time.
It's doubtful that a new law or government bureaucracy would have prevented this from happening but it's entirely possible that tools such as strong encryption could have. It's ironic that the U.S. Government is focusing on the former while fighting use of the latter.
I understand how it affects their claim for the security of escrowed keys, but I'm afraid I don't follow the other argument. How would the wide availability of strong encryption have helped prevent the breakin? How would encryption in general prevent breakins? I'd love to use this as an argument for strong encryption, but I don't see how it really applies.
I think its a DOJ's doing. They prolly want to show the courts how bad hackers can get so they can conjure up some support in forthcomming trials. C'mon the sysadmins aren't fools, they surely see their own site. - Vipul vipul@pobox.com