From: cfrye@ciis.mitre.org (Curtis D. Frye)
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 93 08:27:56 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Pyrrhus Cracks RSA?
Message-ID: <9311231633.AA08407@ciis.mitre.org>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>You know the people who could break DES, RSA, PGP, etc.  Shamir 
>unpacked Diffie's knapsack.  What is most probable, is that these 
>ciphers will stand for some unforeseeable time until someone who 
>may not be born yet comes along and breaks them all as an idle 
>{exercise on her way to greatness in another field. 
> 
>But the NSA?  No way, Jose.  They might be nerds who hacked some 
>code at 3 am.  But you put them on a salary and benefits in a 
>pyramid, then tell them not to talk about their work, and you 
>thwart whatever creativity they had.  The NSA can kill you.  But 
>t({they can never out-think you. 

Strong words that, IMHO, put way too much faith in the argument that a
"restrictive" work environment inevitably crushes individualism and
creativity.  Any organization, .gov or !.gov, that:  

  *  recruits the best and the brightest and pays them well; 
  *  gives access to substantial computing/financial resources and academic    
     knowledge; 
  *  fosters team-building, creativity, and competition *within the group*; 
  *  rewards achievement and provides status *within the group*; and 
  *  provides other movitivation, be it patriotism/pride/whatever, 

will produce more than its fair share of advances in a field.  Given a
concentrated environment and an advanced set of tools, it seems improbable
that any group, regardless of organizational affiliation, could be
outperformed *on an evolutionary basis* by a loose band of academicians and
private researchers with irregular contact.  

Revolutionary change is impossible to predict, though I feel that no
organization with sufficient resources would throw away promising methods
without thorough investigation.  Even so, I do personally believe that
private individuals may have an edge in revolutionary research. 
Unfortunately, both statements are unverifiable.

The key point to remember is that motivation is relative - regardless of
our personal opinions, if someone seeks status within a group then more
"restrictive" environments are not a hindrance to creativity.

--
Best regards,

Curtis D. Frye
cfrye@ciis.mitre.org
"If you think I speak for MITRE, I'll tell you how much they
 pay me and make you feel foolish."