Fellow Cypherpunks, I have rewritten my posting on Denning's proposal and posted it to sci.crypt, for wider discussion. I'm surprised the sci.crypt folks had not already the significance. You might want to consider debating the issue there, rather than on this list, as your words will then be heard by more folks and could mobilize an effort against proposal like this one of Denning's. Cryptically your, --Tim Newsgroups: sci.crypt Path: netcom.com!tcmay From: tcmay@netcom.com (Timothy C. May) Subject: A Trial Balloon to Ban Encryption? Message-ID: <1992Oct26.180813.7002@netcom.com> Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5 Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1992 18:08:13 GMT Is there a trial balloon being floated to effectively ban encryption? Noted and influential influential crypto advisor Dorothy Denning has apparently floated the idea of _public key registration_ in a paper or talk at the 15th Computer Security Conference in Baltimore, held recently. Discussion of this is in comp.risks ("RISKS"), so far, but certainly belongs in this group. I posted a summary of this position to a private mailing list devoted to crypto issues and got a huge response of concerned folks. I don't understand why this is not a hot topic on sci.crypt, so I'll post something right now. Here's my understanding of her proposal: * Anyone using public key cryptography would be required to register the private key with the appropriate authorities, for example, the Justice Department. * To head off the obvious concerns about the government routinely reading e-mail, financial dealings, etc., this registered key would be stored at an independent agency after first being encrypted with the _public key_ of Justice. (That is, the independent key storage agency would have an unusable key, so _they_ couldn't use it themselves.) * To obtain a usable form of the private key, Justice would have to get a valid court order, go to the independent storage agency, present the order, pick up the key, open it with their own _private key_, and proceed to open mail, read communications, etc. This is ostensibly the procedure now used for wiretaps. But the effect on encryption would be chilling: -would greatly complicate the rapid changing of keys -would probably be a way to get "unlicensed" crypto programs off the market (e.g., don't think about using PGP 2.0, as the key registration authorities would either insist on another algorithm, or would send the "registration application" to, for example, RSA Data Security for legal action) -would undoubtedly require a "fee" (like a driver's license) -would interfere with the use of digital pseudonyms, anonymous nets (a la Chaum's "DC Net" proposal, which some of us are exploring now), and digital money -would establish the precedent that private communications are not legal, that copies of all private communications must be placed in escrow with the government Registering keys is no different than, for example, requiring a permit for every public utterance or for registering typewriters, modems, computers, fax machines, and copiers. Or banning the use of sealed envelopes for mail. In Phil Zimmerman's great words, it would be like requiring all mail to be sent on postcards. My suspicion, which Prof. Denning will presumably comment on if she's reading this, is that the government folks have come to understand the profound implications of modern crypto and are looking for approaches to head off the coming sea changes. Granted, there are serious national security threats in using modern crypto methods, but there are in any of the new technologies, such as those listed above. Besides, does anyone think all keys will be registered? Hiding bits is a relatively easy thing to do. This key registration proposal is more odious than the "backdoors in telecom equipment" proposal discussed here recently. Can we remain silent as our liberties are taken away? I think it was John Gilmore who said: "If encryption is outlawed, only outlaws will have encryption." -- .......................................................................... 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 | PGP 2.0 and MailSafe keys by arrangement.