Lots of media are running survey questions asking if the US should ban strong cryptography. Here is a more honest survey: 1. Are you willing to ban strong cryptography so the FBI, CIA, NSA etc. can listen in on potential terrorists, and jail Americans that use strong cryptography? 2. The browser that you're using to read this survey uses strong cryptography. If you answered "yes" to #1, are you ready to go to jail now? 3. Ok, you didn't know that your browser uses cryptography and you're not a terrorist. We won't report you. Are you willing to arrest little old ladies who didn't know that their browser uses crypto? 4. Are you willing to allow hackers to steal your credit card number or medical information or email accounts because they're no longer protected by strong cryptography? 5. How about your banking info? Are you willing to deal with periodically straightening out your bank accounts when hackers break into them because they're no longer protected by strong cryptography? 6. Even if the US banned all strong crypto tommorrow, there would still be many strong crypto programs out in the world, and all the knowledge is readily available (printed in books no less). Would you be willing to allow governments and hackers to read all your communications and personal data, while in the rest of the world they cannot? 7. Terrorists or those associated with them sometimes attack web sites and networks. Are you willing to tolerate more of these sorts of attacks against U.S. digital infrastructure because it's no longer protected with strong cryptography? 8. Criminals, by definition, do not follow laws. Do you think that all criminals are dumb enough to switch back to weak crypto to plan their crimes? 9. Terrorists do not always communicate digitally. In fact there are rumors that Osama bin Laden communicates with his associates either by sending verbal messages with trusted couriers from families that he knows, or for longer distances, using paper messages sent via services like FedEx. Do you think that banning strong crypto in America will slow bin Laden down at all? Eric