---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 28 Jan 1998 13:46:48 -0800 (PST) From: Declan McCullagh <declanat_private> To: politechat_private Subject: FC: FBI tells Congress encryption "is a critical problem" ******** The nation's top cops aren't happy about Americans using data-scrambling software to shield their correspondence from prying eyes. Today the deputy director of the FBI told the Senate Intelligence committee that encryption "is a critical problem" that Congress needs to solve -- presumably by banning email and other programs that his G-men can't crack. (http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/opinion/0,1042,1385,00.html). Bob Bryant warned the committee that "the widespread use of robust non-key recovery encryption will ultimately devastate our ability to fight crime and prevent terrorism." Which is precisely what Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb) claims he's concerned about. He said "if we want to make the American people continue to feel safe," the National Security Agency and the FBI "have to be able to somehow deal with not just the complexity of signals, but increasingly encrypted signals that are impossible for us to break." Not surprisingly, the question of why the FBI and NSA should have the ability to listen in on any conversation was left unasked. --By Declan McCullagh/Washington (declanat_private) ---------- End forwarded message ----------- Commentary: One would think that lasers bounced off windows, banking transaction records, spy satellites, and hey, good old fashioned interviewing witnesses would keep IC/LEA at bay from wiretapping everything. Of course, they say they'll only tap things with a valid court order. Not only has the FISA court never denied a court order, but I and many others simply do not believe them. Spin control? Manufactured consent? Memetics? Bah, they're fooling themselves. Also, banning of crypto programs will only hurt the law-abiding. Crypto is everywhere, and criminals will continue to use strong cryptography. A lot of these terrorists ... though misguided in their analysis that violence can implement long term change for good ... commit their actions because they're angry their freedoms are taken away. Government takes their freedoms away because, they say, they want to prevent violent confrontation, and especially nuclear war. Catch-22. The more freedoms are taken away, the more humans will become angry and willing to use violence to get them back. It's time for our species to deal with our greed, lies, and violent instincts. Personally, I don't even want to buy a gun. I deal with tremendous guilt when I eat meat. I wish people would be nice to each other, but then I guess they wouldn't get that crack-smoking feeling from their rage. -hedges-
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