At 12:09 PM +0200 8/28/00, Tom Vogt wrote:
>Tim May wrote:
>> Who uses crypto on a regular basis are those for whom the risks of
>> getting caught with certain material or certain thoughts are nonzero,
>> and for whom the penalties are significant. The usual examples:
>> freedom fighters plotting to blow up government buildings, child
>> pornographers, money launderers making plans, etc.
>
>what about discovery?
>
>I'm not aware of the precise details of your legal system (except that
>it appears to be completely insane from an outside perspective) but I
>learned that lots of nasty stuff has been discovered by subpoenas etc.
>
>are you required to provide your private keys to an enemy (e.g. someone
>who is sueing you) ?
The lawyers and lawyer larvae can comment better than I can. I
believe the answer is "yes, documents must be in usable form by your
ex-wife's lawyers," for example. This probably doesn't mean turning
over a private key, but it means decrypting one's financial records,
one's communications with a lover, etc.
"Discovery," as you allude to, is very broad.
However, I haven't heard of a case like this so far. Perhaps for reasons below.
>
>otherwise, having your mail encrypted on the disk would be a great
>thing. and different from having an encrypted filesystem, it IS true
>that handing them your key would compromise any and all past, present
>and future conversations. provided your legal system has some sanity
>left, that should be overbroad.
I expect 95% or more of all encryption is done at the transport
layer, i.e., for transmission. Most peoplee, I surmise, keep their
original compositions in unencrypted form and their decrypted
transmissions in that form, too. The perceived threat model is for
interception by ISPs, snoops, and government agencies.
It might make sense to encrypt more stuff on local computers, but I
expect this is rare up to this point.
--Tim May
--
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES: 831-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
"Cyphernomicon" | black markets, collapse of governments.
