---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 15:50:40 -0800 (PST) From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com> To: fight-censorship-announce@vorlon.mit.edu Subject: NSA responds to criticism over weakening cellular crypto John Markoff writes in today's NYT: Several telecommunications industry officials said the pressure came from the National Security Agency, which feared that stronger encryption technology might allow criminals or terrorists to conspire with impunity by cellular phones. But independent security experts now say that the code is easy enough to crack that anyone with sufficient technical skills could make and sell a monitoring device that would be as easy to use as a police scanner is. Below the NSA's Clint Brooks responds to Dave Banisar. -Declan ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 18:08:28 -0500 From: Dave Banisar <Banisar@epic.org>
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 17:35:44 -0500 From: Clinton Brooks <cbrooks@romulus.ncsc.mil> Reply-To: cbrooks@romulus.ncsc.mil MIME-Version: 1.0 To: banisar@epic.org CC: "Brooks, Clinton" <cbrooks@romulus.ncsc.mil> Subject: Cellular Phone Flaw
Dave,
Re your comments on the flaw apparently found in cellular phones:
We have released the following statement:
"NSA had no role in the design or selection of the encryption algorithm chosen by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). NSA also had no role in the design or manufacture of the telephones themselves. As we understand the researchers' claim, it appears that the algorithm selected and the way it was implemented in the system has led to the stated flaws.
NSA provided the TIA with technical advice on the exportability of these devices under U.S. export regulations and processes."
Clint
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