From: harka@nycmetro.com
Date: Wed, 9 Apr 1997 01:36:53 -0700 (PDT)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Sweden Netscape Intra
Message-ID: <TCPSMTP.17.4.9.4.30.30.2780269260.1599068@nycmetro.com>
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 -=> Quoting In:tcmay@got.net to Harka <=-

 In> The Swedish plan is something to be avoided. Consider just a few
 In> quotes:

Actually, I was just flying over the text before forwarding it. But
after reading it in depth, I agree with you.

 In> The government gives out the mailboxes. Wanna bet they give out the
 In> keys, too?

Not only that but it would create the e-mail monopoly, that would
be the destruction of the de-centralized nature of the Internet
(e-mail being part of it). Just imagine, how easy it would be to
have a few well publicized cases of remailer-abuse and the Swedish
Postal Office therefore decides to automatically block all mail
coming from (and maybe even to) remailers. With the majority of
people having no clue about remailers in the first place (except
what the press will feed them) the protest will be small enough to
be ignored.
That could even be extended to crypto, as you indicate. If Sweden
ever outlaws cryptography, the monopoly would provide a perfect
setting of enforcing such (with the few exceptions of where stego is
used). The same applies to content and traceability of e-mails.

 In> (Yes, I understand that the system is being presented as "voluntary."
 In> For how long? And what happens to non-PTT ISPs when the PTT is a state
 In> monopoly? (Imagine what would happen if the U.S. Postal Service made a
 In> deal wherein AOL became the favored provider.)

Market-driven "voluntary" measurements tend to be rather forced upon
people than anything else. If something is standard then you'll have
to use it because most other people do too. That is the danger with
monopolies of any kind.
This, I am afraid, will happen with crypto-issues in the US itself.
I am almost certain, that Windows 97 will adress cryptography in one
way or the other. If they put in means to encrypt e-mails for
example right from the operating system and independent of the
provider, then this would be the death-blow to PGP. And considering
the talk about "key-management-infrastructure", then this will be
probably the best means to achieve it. In fact, it might not even be
a GAK-enabled system, but one that's easy to crack (propriatory
algorithm or whatever). The civil-liberty groups have no GAK-issue
to talk about anymore and few will understand, why "security through
obscurity" is not good. The majority however, who doesn't care
anyway much about crypto, will use that slick Windows interface and
not worry any further. That would be cause for celebration at the
TLA's and the end to wide-spread strong crypto.

Ciao

Harka

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If encryption is outlawed, only outlaws will have encryption...