From: tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)
Date: Fri, 29 Mar 1996 17:12:56 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: ITAR double standards?
Message-ID: <ad7ef34a22021004f622@[205.199.118.202]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 5:20 PM 3/27/96, Asgaard wrote:

>I believe in this parallel thesis. As was reported from the dec -95
>OECD meeting in Paris:
>
>>The statement from SHELL International is interesting.
>>They can accept 'a trustworthy international key escrow
>>infrastructure based on X.509 certificates' but they also
>>need to 'protect their assets against Government intelligence
>>gathering, organised crime, civil unrest and data privacy
>>legislation obligations'.

Indeed, there are _many_ reasons for multinational and/or non-U.S.-based
companies to be suspicious of the United States or any of its minions
holding the keys to confidential business information.

Bamford's "The Puzzle Palace" reports on many incidents in which U.S.
agencies intercepted business transactions for various reasons. Even of
allies, as in the case when one of the NSA's SIGINT antennas picked up a
message from the U.K. government to the ambassador in Vienna alerting him
to the coming devaluation of the pound. (A great opportunity for Ollie
North and his covert ops boys to make some extra millions by currency
speculation.)

Likewise, ITT routinely cooperated with the FBI and pre-NSA surveillance
agencies to supply the traffic of corporations and businessmen.

Given that even nominal allies spy on each other (Pollard spied on the U.S.
for Israel, Chobetsu routinely spies on U.S. companies in Japan, France
bugged Air France jets to spy on U.S. businessmen, etc.), I just don't see
any international agreements that protect adequately. And when I say
"nominal allies," consider that many in Washington have been saying in
recent years that Japan is America's "real" enemy! (I certainly don't
endorse this view...they're all a bunch of rascals.)

I believe the obvious flaw in the whole key escrow debate, the flaw that is
so obvious it seldom gets discussed, is that it is expected that the U.S.
will be the holder of keys. Or its minions in Europe and Asia. Flawed,
irretrievably.

--Tim May

Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software!
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^756839 - 1  | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."