Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com> wrote: ---------------Original Message--------------- We'll just supply the feds with some of the key testing code developed for collective cracking of RSA-129 or RC4. That code is "a universal decoding device or program." All it takes is a few years... <g> DCF ----------End of Original Message---------- That raises an interesting issue. How difficult to use or how time consuming can a program or method be to be considered "a universal decoding device or program." Can I give the feds a program that will crack my messages in a few days when run on one of their supercomputers? If this is not acceptable what will be their rational? Will they have to invent a huge new bureaucracy to manage all these devices and programs? Theoretically, every person in the US could submit many different devices and programs. One could bank on the feds losing or misplacing your program if they were innundated enough. Can you destroy your only copy of the "universal decoding program" after giving them their copy? Does every message or file I encrypt need a cleartext header that describes which of my escrowed devices or programs wil decrypt it? There are many problems with this idea of Government Access to Devices or Programs (GADOP). A toolset that could build many different encryption and decryption variations based on psuedo-random input may be a good tool to fight this nonsense. Weld Pond - weld@l0pht.com - http://www.l0pht.com/~weld L 0 p h t H e a v y I n d u s t r i e s Technical archives for the people - Bio/Electro/Crypto/Radio