Web TV with 128b exported

Wed Oct 7 11:02:08 PDT 1998

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In <3.0.5.32.19981007090445.008903c0 at m7.sprynet.com>, on 10/07/98 
   at 09:04 AM, David Honig <honig at sprynet.com> said:

>At 04:32 PM 10/6/98 -0500, William H. Geiger III wrote:
>>   at 11:08 AM, David Honig <honig at sprynet.com> said:
>>>The WebTV(TM) Network service, combined with the WebTV-based Internet
>>>terminals and receivers, is the first communications system permitted by
>>>the U.S. government to provide strong encryption for general use by
>>>non-U.S. citizens in Japan and the United Kingdom. Such strong encryption
>>>allows Japanese and United Kingdom subscribers of WebTV to communicate
>>>through the WebTV Network (both within national borders and
>>>internationally) without fear of interception by unauthorized parties. 
>>
>>I have my doubts on this. I find it highly unlikely that the FEDs would
>>approve this without some form of GAK built in even if it is not in the
>>form of "key recovery".
>>

>I'd guess that the Export control puppets know that the Web-TV hubs will
>be subpoena-able by the US even in these other "sovereign" nations. The
>WebTV centralized infrastructure makes this easy.

I have never looked at the WebTV set-up but I am assuming they are running
a series of proxy servers which then provide content for the WebTV boxes?
Or are they providing an AOL type of thing, with their own proprietary
network and gateways to the real world?

Exactly what is getting encrypted and what is not in this system? If this
is just point to point encryption between the WebTV box & the WebTV
hub/proxy/whatever it seems rather worthless IMNSHO.

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