Although the "details" are classified at this time, I believe that the secrecy is just part of the plan to prevent software implementations that could easily spoof anyone who was trying to listen in by munging the law enforcement block. I'm sure the algorithm would continue to be secure even after the details are discovered. The secrecy is to control use not to prevent decryption. This is, I believe, the greatest achilles heel of this proposal. There are at least 40 million PC's in this country. They would like this chip to become the "standard" for all encryption. That would mean putting in every machine. The cost of this could range from $25 to $100 per machine. That means this whole plan could cost $1 billion to $4 billion dollars in real money. A new software encryption standard, however, could be promulgated with about one summer's work by an undergraduate handy with C. I believe that people aren't going to be willing to add the additional hardware to their PC boxes. Look how slowly better video standards have evolved in the PC domain. Look how slowly CD-ROMs are becoming standard. Everyone agrees that this technology would be nice, but no one is willing to raise the level of their standard boxes to include this hardware. Raising the price of their standard box puts them at a competitive disadvantage. So the lowest common denominator continues. DES chips have been around for _years_ and no one builds them into their boxes. Why is this chip going to be any different? -Peter