NRC Cryptography Report: The Text of the Recommendations

[Medea]

Dave Watson wrote:

>Anybody know who the NRC is and whether they have any influence >with anyone?

Dave,

  Maybe the following article might answer your question....

Medea

+++++++++++++++Forwarded Article+++++++++++++++++++

          WASHINGTON (Reuter) - Cryptography, the art and science of secret writing, has long been the province of soldiers, rulers
and spies. But a study for Congress released Thursday said the U.S. government should promote widespread commercial use of such tricks to curb theft of computer data, wireless communications and other electronic information.
          A committee of the National Research Council, which gives science and technology advice under a congressional charter, said a broad use of cryptography would help the United States in many ways including making banking and telecommunications networks more secure and giving individuals greater privacy.
          In a report requested by Congress, the panel said no law should bar the manufacture, sale or use in the United States of any form of encryption -- mathematical formulas to scramble
electronic data to thwart eavesdroppers. Largely siding with
industry in a long tug-of-war with law enforcement officials, it
also said export controls on encryption technologies should be
"progressively relaxed but not eliminated."
          The Clinton administration and its predecessors have
blocked the export of powerful cryptography, fearing it would
hinder officials in thwarting terrorism and counter-espionage.
          Committee chair Kenneth Dam, a law professor at the
University of Chicago, acknowledged that the spread of
encryption technologies would make some law enforcement and
spying tougher for the United States.
          "But the many benefits to society of widespread commercial and private use of cryptography outweigh the disadvantages," he said in a statement accompanying the report, entitled "Cryptography's Role in Securing the Information Society".
          The administration wants to set up government-approved
repositories that keep copies of mathematical keys for decoding
encrypted information so officials can lift the veil on secret
communications if granted a court order.
          Industry executives and privacy advocates strongly oppose such "escrowed" encryption, arguing that reliable coding
technology is critical for commerce and for privacy in the
information age and on the Internet, the worldwide collection of
computer networks.
          In its study, the committee said U.S. policy should take account of national security concerns but should be driven more by market forces than by law.  "Since the committee believes
that widespread deployment and use of cryptography are in the
national interest, it believes that national cryptography policy
should align itself with user needs and market forces to the
maximum feasible extent," it said.