From: "Deranged Mutant" <WlkngOwl@unix.asb.com>
Date: Fri, 15 Mar 1996 12:19:45 +0800
To: jim bell <jimbell@pacifier.com>
Subject: Re: Why escrow? (was Re: How would Leahy bill affect crypto
Message-ID: <199603142334.SAA01245@unix.asb.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


On 14 Mar 96 at 12:00, jim bell wrote:

> At 07:57 AM 3/14/96 +0000, Deranged Mutant wrote:
> >On 13 Mar 96 at 15:27, jim bell wrote:
> >[..]
> >> If I were trying to detect government investigation in such a situation, I 
> >> would buy a crypto phone, open an "escrow account" on a totally voluntary 
> >> basis, give them a phony key, and then (as part of the 
> >(presumably?)  [..]
> >
> >Would it be legal to deceive an escrow agent?
> 
> It _should_ be legal.  At least, assuming the arrangement is truly voluntary 
> and the escrow agent gets his part of the bargain (his usual fee) he has no 
> interest in knowing whether or not the data he's holding for you is "real" 
> or "imaginary."  

I mean illegal in the sense that your true purpose is to decieve law 
enforcement. (Yes, it'll also fake out anyone who bribes the escrow 
agent for your keys, though....)

Of course that depends how you give your key to an escrow agent. If 
it's already escrowed when you buy a phone, for instance...

[..]
> It is sections of the bill like that which will guarantee that nobody 
> provides an unencrypted key for escrow:  Nobody will want to risk having the 
> escrow agent "forced" to release the key, even (and especially!) under a 
> court order.  Fortunately, modern technology will provide the solution to 
> government-simpleton thinking.

It's part of warrants.  Nobody likes having the cops search their 
apartments either.   (I'd say a warrant is better than none, but 
judges are generally all too willing to grant a warrant, and the bill 
allows for "good faith" when no warrant is used anyway...)

 
Rob. 

---
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