At 8:21 AM -0800 5/7/97, John Young wrote:

Wash Post reports today on a NSA intercept of a "secure communication" between two Israeli spooks discussing a top US official spying for Israel.

The FBI opened an investigation in January.

Israel denies the claim.

Crypto is not mentioned, only that the Hebrew conversation was "awkwardly" translated.

The intercept was withdrawn after 12 hours from the distribution list due to FBI's dismay at its spread.

First, this was probably an intentional spreading of the news. The U.S. wants its nominal ally, Israel, to know that it knows and that it wants Israel to know it is publically signalling that it knows that it knows. Second, such spying by nominal allies on each other is not new, of course, and has always been common. The U.S. has intensive espionage efforts directed against all of its nominal allies, often maintaining extensive listening posts in the countries involved. (The U.S., being the big bully on the block, can maintain large SIGINT and COMINT facilities in Japan, for example, but reciprocal rights by the Japanese to maintain COMINT facilities in Silicon Valley, for example, are not granted.) Third, whether crypto is presently involved now, it soon will be. Encrypted phones are being sold--not the Clipper-enabled duds, but the 3DES phone Eric Blossom and his Comsec outfit is selling, Encrypted links over the Internet for voice, too. (One of the most impressive things I ever saw was a fully-DES-encrypted linkup of several sites via the MBONE...and this was more than four years ago, at a Cyperpunks meeting which linked up Silicon Valley, Washington, Boston, San Diego, and other sites.) Fourth, under the SAFE provisions, such "diversions" of crypto to uses by terrorists, spies, and military persons could invoke the clauses by which exports are denied, and even trigger the "furtherance of a crime" provisions. We've known the Zionist state has had nukes for more than 25 years, probably longer. And yet we cluck about the nuclear programs of other nations. --Tim May There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^1398269 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."