News Flash: Clipper Bug?

[Peter Wayner]

>> One thing this shows, even if the application of the technique turns out
>> to be too difficult to be practical, is that Dorothy Denning's evaluation
>> of the design was worthless.  That team should have found this themselves.
>> No wonder she was trying to play it down in the NYT.
>
>It was my understanding that Denning was just looking at the Skipjack
>algorithm, and not the clipper unit as a whole.  I wouldn't be too quick
>to condemn her on this point.

Of course, Dorothy Denning could simply say, "Gosh, the Blaze result
shows how to make Clipper _more_ secure for the average user. Now they
don't have to worry about the government. I stand by my assessment that
it is secure."