tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May) writes:
At 1:01 PM 2/11/96, Dr. Dimitri Vulis wrote:
As I read it, a college professor might get busted for explaining his own ne crypto research to a class where some students happen not to be U.S. citizen
Considering that most engineering and computer science classses are approaching 50 percent non-U.S.-citizen, and considering that no such professors have yet been busted, I'm inclined to think this is a non-threat.
(Indeed, it's a _potential_ threat, and one we should bear in mind, but it seems likely that no such prosecutions have occurred or will occur.)
I have anecdotal evidence (which I don't want to share) that certain college teachers are reluctant to discuss state-of-the art crypto research in class because they feel they're not supposed to share it with foreign students. It may not be a fear of prosecution as much as the belief that it's against the intent of the laws.
Of course we all know this already. Just some U.S. people prefer to ignore t mote in their own eye and to fight censorship in exotic remote developing countries. Do you remember how U.S. Gov't tried to prevent the publications research papers on zero-knowledge proofs?
No, could you provide some details? Who was pressured? Micali? Goldwasser? Rackoff? Please share the details.
There has been an ineffective "voluntary review" process for academic researchers, and perhaps this is what Dimitri is referring to. But this did not stop the publication of the ZKIPS work a decade or so ago.
I recall that the (in)voluntary review process did slow down the publication of ZKP by a year or so. Rather than rely on my memory, I'll dig up the exact details and will most definitely get back to you. --- Dr. Dimitri Vulis Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps