From: "Timothy C. May" <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 01:04:04 -0800 (PST)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Rogue Governments Issuing Policy Tokens
Message-ID: <v03007800aeb7270c6d3b@[207.167.93.63]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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We've touched on this issue several times, in several contexts.

The problem (for GAK) of "rogue governments" is this: a government such as
Libya or Panama, henceforth to be known as "Rogueitania," issues policy
cards to all of its citizens, and to all those visiting Rogueitania, and
perhaps through the mail to anyone who pays some fee.

So, unless the U.S. actually does implement _import controls_ on such
things, the willingness of Rogouitania to freely issue policy cards with no
restrictions, guts the U.S. system.

(The crypto community does in fact call these issuers "rogue governments."
For example, in the mid-80s this was the subject of some "Crypto" papers
about rogue governments (like Libya) possibly being willing to issue false
passports to agents, terrorists, etc. Gee, the U.S. would have no interest
in doing such a thing, either for their own agents, their own covert action
squads, or their own 50,000 people given false identities in the Witness
Security Program.)

We raised many issues similar to this during the Clipper I, Clipper II,
etc., exercises. The whole issue of why foreign governments would willingly
see the NSA with intercept capabilities for their traffic was never
addressed by the Administration. Nor was the issue of rogue governments.
Nor many other issues.

(I don't even think Denning and her Blue Ribbon Panel ever issued their
final report on their weekend-long study of Clipper....events sort of made
it moot.)

And I don't expect substantive answers to our questions on the latest
Clipper announcement for years, if ever.

--Tim May

"The government announcement is disastrous," said Jim Bidzos,.."We warned IBM
that the National Security Agency would try to twist their technology."
[NYT, 1996-10-02]
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I 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: 2^1,257,787-1 | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."