A rather sketchy and somewhat misleading article: http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/084300.htm <quote> Posted at 7:30 a.m. PST Friday, February 12, 1999 New encryption code could remain a secret BY MICHAEL BROOKS The Guardian If you have an uneasy feeling about the security of Internet commerce, you have probably reassured yourself that the high-tech security programs which safeguard your privacy are written by the world's best cryptographers. Think again. Victor Shoup, a cryptography researcher at IBM's Zurich laboratory, has come up with a world first: a practical encryption technique that has provable security. You might be surprised to learn that it may never make it onto the market. Unfortunately for the public, quality and security are near the bottom of the priority list when it comes to turning a scheme into a product. The spoils go to the fastest. ``If you're first, you win, and it doesn't really matter if the product is crap,'' Shoup explains. ``A lot of what's out there is not the best that could be done, even without sacrificing any practicality.'' The upshot is that cryptographers have minimal say in the development of new products. <. . . .> </quote> There is a related story, dated August 24, 1998, at: http://www.zurich.ibm.com/News/CRYPTO/
