ZDTV and CNN coverage of DES Cracker

[John D. Hays]

>Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 22:06:31 -0400
>To: John Gilmore <gnu at toad.com>
>From: "John D. Hays" <@>
>Subject: Re: ZDTV and CNN coverage of DES Cracker
>In-Reply-To: <199807180011.RAA02044 at toad.com>
>
>At 05:11 PM 7/17/98 -0700, you wrote:
>>ZDTV will have me on the 8PM news tonight, and Barry Steinhardt on
>>their "Silicon Spin" program today.
>>
>>CNN took pictures earlier today, I don't know when they'll use them.
>>
>
>	Congratulations to you and the EFF. I caught some of Silicon Spin.
Everyone seemed to agree that DES was weak and the government is going
about things all wrong.  But CNN doesn't get it.
>
>To paraphrase:
>"A popular method of scrambling data was dealt a blow today... by a
specially built cracking machine... a BANKER was quoted as admonishing
these efforts as reckless for it will only benefit _criminals_."
>
>	I don't remember it verbatim but I remember the impression I got from
CNN.  Now, this was only a news brief, not a report or a panel, but it
illustrates the ignorance (or bias) of big media.
>
>	They never said "encryption". Instead referring to it as "method of
scrambling data".  Encryption is a geeky Big Word that CNN thinks normal
people won't know.  They completely ignored the social and political
implications of cracking DES.  Using encryption to secure your
correspondence, for authentication, or to protect Freedom and Liberty are
geeky Big Concepts that CNN thinks normal people won't understand.  
>
>	Now I don't expect an in-depth report on a complex issue in thirty
seconds.  But to completely ignore the real issues and give us a half assed
uncited falsehood?  Did anyone see any good coverage of the DES crack on
CNN, ABC, NBC or any other big corporate news program?
>
>