Re: [Nettime-nl] Internet restrictie in Central Asia

[Jos Horikx <jhorikx@chello.nl>]

At 23:20 24-9-01 +0200, Eveline Lubbers wrote o.a.:

>De oorlog komt er aan, de verbindingen worden alvast
>verbroken.

En, we konden erop wachten, die encryptie wordt aangepakt
(althans, dat wil zo'n senator)

http://news.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-7285611-0.html?tag=ats

--- begin quote ---

U.S. senator seeks to limit Internet encryption 
9/24/01 12:35 PM
Source: Reuters

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Judd Gregg
will seek to include limits on encryption technology in an
anti-terrorism bill favored by the Bush Administration, a
spokesman said Monday.

Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, is currently exploring
ways to limit technology that allows users to scramble e-mail
messages and other online communications for privacy, said
spokesman Brian Hart.

The Central Intelligence Agency said earlier this year that
encryption is used by radical Islamic groups like Osama bin
Laden's al Qaeda, believed to be responsible for the attacks on
Sept. 11 that have left more than 6,500 dead or missing.
While Gregg has not settled on final language for his
proposal, he will seek to include it in a comprehensive bill
drafted by Attorney General John Ashcroft that would greatly expand the
powers of law enforcement, Hart said.

Gregg is also seeking the input of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom
Ridge, who was appointed to head U.S. efforts to defend against
terrorism last week, Hart said.

"He's talking to the attorney general and Tom Ridge to make
sure some of these proposals are included in the overall bill,"
Hart said.

Gregg's mandate would require a "trap door" in each
encrypted message that would allow access by law enforcement.
Investigators would need a subpoena from an independent,
quasi-judicial commission to access the trap door.
U.S. allies would be encouraged to adopt similar
legislation, Hart said, so U.S. cryptography developers would
not be at a disadvantage.

Hart emphasized that Gregg's proposal was not set in
stone.

"He's just shopping the ideas around. This is kind of a
general thought and general idea to see if it has legs," he
said.

COULD REOPEN DEBATE

Gregg's efforts could reopen debate about the merits of
encryption technology that has been going on for decades.
While businesses and individual users say encryption is
necessary for online transactions and personal privacy, the
U.S. government has long regarded it with suspicion.
"We are going to have to remake the case that it is needed
for security and it is needed for privacy," said Jerry Berman,
executive director of the Center for Democracy and Technology
in Washington.

The Clinton Administration unsuccessfully proposed a
similar trap-door scheme in the 1990s and Congress only
recently loosened long-standing export controls on encryption
technology.

Gregg's proposal would not limit the availability of
encryption software, Berman said, as programs are widely
available overseas and efforts to enforce the trap-door scheme
on an international basis are likely to fail.

"Bin Laden can get ahold of cryptography no matter what our
government does," Berman said.

On Friday, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican who
led the efforts to loosen export controls, said he would oppose
any efforts to restrict encryption.

--- einde quote ---


Met vriendelijke groet,

JH



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