From: Andrew Purshottam <andy@autodesk.com>
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 94 19:45:31 PDT
To: mike@egfabt.org (Mike Sherwood)
Subject: Re: problems with key escrow?
In-Reply-To: <kRsFkc1w165w@EGFABT.ORG>
Message-ID: <199404080235.TAA02395@meefun.autodesk.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Do you accept the claim that clipper is only for telephone
conversations? I certainly don't believe that once a digital encryption
algorithm is conveniently present in my digital network (clipper would
need a digital audio hookup and modem to work with analog phone lines)
I am going to abstain from using it for all my _other_ digital traffic,
like email and data. Especially if everyone I want to talk uses this
standard too, and there is some sort of key-exchange protocol we all
use that just happens to use clipper as well. Now anyone with my
escrowed key can automatically scan all my mail, bills,
library requests, software purchases, video checkouts, database
inquires, work that I telecomute on, etc (think about all info that
flows into or out of your house!). This is considerably more that can
be done now, and at a much lower than can be done today.


I consider this to be the greatest lie in the Denning / Slick Willy
party line on clipper. Most non-computer people do not appreciate the
power of standardization to coerce users to inferior or otherwise
undesirable standards, because everyone and every machine one needs to
interoperate with follows the standard, foul though it is. (As a DOS
developer, I am quite aware of this ;-) I wish the press would figure
this out, and challenge the SW's spokespeople on this.

Andy (andy@autodesk.com) speaking for self.