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From: Lynx_User@linux.nycmetro.com
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 1997 07:27:56 -0800 (PST)
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Reuters New Media
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Wednesday January 29 3:26 PM EST
U.S. Encryption Envoy Seeks Industry Cooperation
SAN FRANCISCO - The Clinton administration's newly named point man on
encryption policy is citing international support for U.S. policies
limiting use of encryption and called for industry cooperation.
Ambassador David Aaron, special envoy for cryptography, said on a
speech to the RSA Data Security Conference in San Francisco that U.S.
allies support the concept of lawful access by governments and the use
of key recovery mechanisms.
Key recovery would involve storing encoding keys in escrow so
authorities could get access to them to unscramble data in an
emergency, such as to uncover criminal activity.
The White House's continued restrictions on encryption have been
unpopular in the cryptography community and among major U.S.
corporations and high tech companies, which argue the limitations put
U.S. business at a disadvantage.
Aaron said some U.S. trading partners have misgivings about the U.S.
government's decision in October to relax U.S. export controls to
allow export of moderately strong 56-bit encryption, but were willing
to cooperate on the policy.
"As far as I can see, the international encryption market will not be
a free-wheeling affair," he said, adding companies should consider
that lawful access and key escrow capabilities may become "a growing
international requirement."
In his speech, Aaron also listed cases where the U.S. government said
encryption was used in terrorist plots, drug dealing, child
pornography and espionage, adding the White House, "in no way seeks to
expand law enforcement powers nor reduce the privacy of individuals."
But some independent experts who monitor cryptography policy disagreed
with Aaron's characterization of the international posture following
his address here, and leading U.S. legislators said they would
continue to push the White House to further liberalize the
restrictions.
"I just don't think it will work," Sen. Conrad Burns, a Montana
Republican who has been behind the legislative effort to promote use
of stronger levels of encryption, said of the White House encryption
policy.
"I think if bad people want to do bad things to good people, they
certainly won't want to file their key (with any law enforcement
authorities)," he told conference attendees over a satellite linkup.
Burns appeared in the linkup with three legislative colleagues to
stress that together they would push to put "get the administration
out in front of the cryptography curve."
Marc Rotenberg, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Electronic
Privacy Information Center, rebutted Aaron's suggestion that
Washington has broad international support for its concept of lawful
access by governments to the keys to encrypted files and
communications.
Rotenberg said at the recent Organization of Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) meetings on encryption policy, that was not the
case, nor were a number of countries pushing for stronger controls, as
Aaron said they had been.
In fact, countries such as Japan, Germany, Australia and Canada all
have competing cryptography capabilities they are promoting, he added.
The OECD guidelines are due to be published next month.
Copyright, Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved
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Earlier Related Stories
* Encryption Export Bill Backed In Senate - Wed Jan 29 9:54 am
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