Duncan Campbell has provided his latest exchanges with
Microsoft on the NSA_key, which Microsoft has now refused
to continue (see letter below):
http://cryptome.org/nsakey-ms-dc.htm
I have mentioned this thread to him and he welcomes
comments/critique on the Microsoft exchange:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-----
12 May 2000
Dear Richard [Purcell, Director of Corporate Privacy, Microsoft],
You will recall talking to me at the Computers Freedom and Privacy
2000 conference. You said then that you wished to resolve the questions
that had been raised about the "NSA_key" in CAPI, and invited Mr Scott
Culp to correspond with me and answer my questions.
As will have seen, Mr Culp has now refused to continue the correspondence,
after he was asked by me to provide specific, direct answers to questions
I asked. He then offered as his reasons for so doing so a number of
observations which simply did not stand up to scrutiny. When I pointed
this out to him, he ceased to correspond entirely.
This type of behaviour is not merely impolite, it is intellectually
dishonest and evasive. It is bound to raise suspicion that Microsoft
does have something serious to hide about its conduct. It further puts
in question the integrity of MS systems offered for sale overseas. So
far as I am concerned, if Microsoft now adopts a position of belligerent
silence, I am more concerned about the security of its systems than I
was when I spoke to you a month ago. Then, I was entirely open to the
idea that Microsoft might be able to prove that its conduct could be
innocently explained. I now observe that this, apparently, is not the
case.
If you confirm that that is the position, so be it. The issue will not
die, even if you now wish to hide from it. Next month, it is expected
that European Parliament will set up a temporary committee to look
further issue into the information security and surveillance matters
which have aroused much concern over the past 2 years. The subject of
the security of US software including this issue, will be on its agenda.
Yours sincerely,
Duncan Campbell
