In the New York Times Cyber Edition I was quoted as saying that PGP 5.5's key escrow "sounds like everything the FBI ever dreamed of." Of course, that's an overstatement. The FBI certainly has bigger dreams, like making non-escrowed encryption illegal. But PGP's system certainly is key escrow. PGP, Inc. is splitting hairs, claiming that their system isn't key escrow because they don't keep copies of any keys. This may be true, but it's a difference that makes no difference. What the PGP system does is automatically encrypt a copy of the message key in the public key of the organization. This is more like the original Clipper Chip. If you remember, the Clipper Chip included a Law Enforcement Access Field in the ciphertext field; this field included the session key, encrypted in a secret law-enforcement key. PGP 5.5 essentially does this. You can think of the message key, encrypted in the public key of the organization, as the CAF (Corporate Access Field). And just as the Clipper Chip checked the validity of the LEAF before going into decrypt mode at the remote end, there is software at the SMTP server that check the validity of the CAF before allowing the encrypted e-mail to be sent. This isn't just key escrow; it's key escrow done well. Yes, this is only available in the Business Edition and not in the Personal Edition. Yes, the company has to decide to turn it on. Yes, the user is notified that this feature is turned on. But once it is turned on, the user cannot turn it off. This is not manditory key escrow (unless you are an employee of a company that decided it is manditory), but the FBI is not after manditory key escrow right now. They're willing to settle for voluntary. Then, in a few years, making it manditory can be spun as "closing a loophole." I agree with the 1996 Phil Zimmermann:

http://simson.vineyard.net/clips/96.SJMN.PGPBusinessEdition.html .... PRETTY LOOSE PRIVACY [...] Published: April 2, 1996 BY SIMSON L. GARFINKEL .... That has not stopped Zimmermann from complaining loudly about the PGP name being used in a product that allows someone other than the author or the intended recipient access to information. Viacrypt owns the licensing rights to sell the commercial versions of PGP.

''PGP does not stand for back doors,'' said Zimmermann. ''I don't mind if they sell a program that has a back door in it, but they shouldn't call it PGP.'' [...] ''If your employer can read your mail anytime he wants, without your permission, that goes against the spirit of the PGP trademark,'' said Zimmermann.

Key escrow = someone other than the author or the intended recipient of the message being able to decrypt it. There are valid reasons for data backup, but they have nothing to do with crypto key recovery. And there are absolutely no business reasons for manditory recovery of communications. We talked about all of this in our report on key recovery (http://www.crypto.com/key_study). Designing a system that is slightly different doesn't negate everything we said. I'm sorry, PGP, if I offended you. But that does not change the facts. Bruce ********************************************************************** Bruce Schneier, President, Counterpane Systems Phone: 612-823-1098 101 E Minnehaha Parkway, Minneapolis,MN 55419 Fax: 612-823-1590 http://www.counterpane.com

I thought when Phil showed me the corporate access option that the user had the ability to remove that crypto-recipient by double clicking on it in the window which pops up listing all crypto-recipients. I may have been wrong. I agree with you that the danger is in allowing the gov't to claim that industry accepts GAK. If this product were released with a sticker on every copy to the effect that we citizens have always had a right to attempt to keep a secret from gov't via crypto, then I'd feel better. Meanwhile, aren't we overlooking the real issue here: that there are apparently companies obnoxious enough to tell you you are not allowed to send mail they can't read? Little Brother may be as bad as Big Brother. - Carl +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Carl M. Ellison cme@acm.org http://www.clark.net/pub/cme | |PGP: E0414C79B5AF36750217BC1A57386478 & 61E2DE7FCB9D7984E9C8048BA63221A2| | "Officer, officer, arrest that man! He's whistling a dirty song." | +-------------------------------------------- Jean Ellison (aka Mother) -+