FLASH - SUBPOENA SERVED

[L. Detweiler]

 From: paul at poboy.b17c.ingr.com (Paul Robichaux)
> I wrote Grady Ward under separate cover about Bruce Schneier's
> upcoming book, published by John Wiley & Sons.. Last I heard, its
> title was "Practical Cryptography," and it's scheduled to hit the
> streets around November 1st.
>
> The book includes source code for DES, RSA, DH, IDEA, and several
> others (Snefru and Lucifer?). IMHO its most salient feature is the
> inclusion of that source code _on a floppy._

FLASH: SUBPOENA SERVED ON BRUCE SCHNEIER, JOHN WILEY & SONS

CYBERSPACE -- On April 1, 1994 Bruce Schneier and his book publisher
John Wiley and Sons were served a subpoena for `any and all materials
related to the national distribution of Julius Caesar code, in
particular ROT13' by agents of the U.S. Cryptography Ideas & Other
Miscellaneous Illegal Substances Control Police, Domestic Division (USCIOMISCPDD).

B. Schneier has posted to Usenet newsgroup "alt.lawbreaking" previously
regarding his intent to publish the book, and recently asked for people
who would `be my drop shippers for Practical Cryptography, and smuggle
ROT13 code out of the U.S., particularly to foreign national
subversives while thumbing their nose at the NSA.'  Some have suggested
the National Spooks Anonymous (parent organization of USCIOMISCPDD, the
White House, and Congress in that order of importance) may have been
clued to the threat from their dual newsfeed and artificially
unintelligent disinformation device, code named Sternlight. Sternlight
denies the charge, calling it a `make-wrong, given the NSA can
routinely multiply large numbers' but does claim to have ``unsurpassed
Unintelligence Training from many years at a Fortune 500 Psychiatric Ward''.

Colorado entrepreneur Phil Zimmerman, winner of the Nobel Prize for
International Cryptographic Terrorism, Criminality, and Guerilla
Warfare, speaking from exile in Switzerland, stated that he fully
extended his personal `web of trust' in support of Schneier, and mailed
him other private communications on a postcard: ``Would you like to buy
some Pretty Good Snake Oil?'' Austin writer Grady Ward, author of the
one-page pamphlet ``ROT0 and Other Neat USCIOMISCPDD-Approved Codes For
Wholesome Fun and Entertainment'' branded Schneier an ``arrogant young
troublemaker''.

A central component of the relevant law related to the investigation
comes from the International Traffic in Unpleasant and Distasteful
Things Regulations, which prohibits import and export of ``blatantly
unusual or unorthodox breakthroughs or techniques, derived from
excessive ingenuity or creativity, particularly those with practical
applications leading directly to ventures that are commercially profitable.''

Renowned experts such as D. Denning note the Regulations do allow
exceptions for free export and import of `public domain' material,
defining it as `any inert and useless mass with no significant value or
purpose, such as air'.  The act bars, without exception,
``trans-U.S.-border electricity flow structures for the purpose of
communications, particularly wires, and any written or oral use of the
term `cyberspace'.''

The Cypherpansies, a club dedicated to the discussion of cryptographic
codes, other than those which scramble plaintext, in various
implementations on abacus-based systems, as well as frequent tag team
blindfolded messenger pigeon competitions, uniformly condemned
Schneier's book, and praised the investigation:

TM: ``The sky is falling! the redcoats are coming! man the
battlestations! flush the toilets! I told you this would happen!''
LD: ``Sources say the grassy knoll is key.''
PM: ``That's a good point. But you're a yammering idiot.''
SB: ``Of course its ridiculous, but they did it because they're required to.''
HF: ``I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the net.''
EH: ``will everyone just SHUT UP!''

The Electonic Frontier Federation, Milky Way Galaxy division, has
announced their intent to defend Schneier in the case. Lawyer Mike
Godwin indicates ``We plan to plead insanity.''