PGP author under fire for terrorist use of crypto

[lizard]

Matthew Gaylor wrote:
> 
> Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 12:57:18 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Craig Phillips <craig at benden.net>
> To: Matthew Gaylor <freematt at coil.com>
> Subject: PGP author under fire for terrorist use of crypto
> 
> Matt:
> 
> Don't know if this is of interest or not.  It appears that Phil Zimmermann
> is taking heat directly over the whole crypto - terrorist thing.
> 
> Details at:
> 
> <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1234-2001Sep20.html>
> 
Phill couldn't write a reply to that moron? Well, as a fan of free
speech, I hereby offer my services gratis to Mr. Zimmermann, providing
him with a useful boilerplate letter to use the next time someone claims
he is responsible for terrorist acts.
============================================================================
Dear (Fuckwit/Moron/Shit-For-Brains/Fundementalist)

You are accusing me of somehow helping terrorists, claiming that if PGP
did not exist, there would still be a World Trade Center. Put simply --
you're an imbecile.

Let us consider. For your accusation to be true, the
FBI/CIA/NSA/AAA/AARP/etc would have had to have been spying on a
terrorist cell, intercepting their communications, knowing they were
planning something, but unsure what due to encryption. However, the fact
is, the terrorists involved were not being monitored. Encrypted or
unencrypted, their communications never reached the various alphabet
soup agencies whose responsibility it is to harass innoc^h^h^h^h protect
democracy. As it is, these agencies are drowining in excess data, far
more than they can read or process in any reasonable span of time.
Encrypted data is lost in the bitstream. 'Backdoors' are useful only
when you already know who to listen to -- and this is more likely to be
a political opponent of the current administration than a criminal. The
spirit of J. Edgar Hoover haunts every agency in the government.

What is needed is a lot more humint and a lot less sigint. Sigint is
only useful if you know who to look at and when to watch them -- and
encryption software doesn't have anything to do with that. 

If you wish to be useful, stop writing hatemail proving your ignorance,
and, instead, donate blood. ALL of it. Stand over a bucket, and slit
your wrists -- up, not across. You are clearly too stupid to live. (Call
the Red Cross first so they can get it before it spoils.)