Network Associates has put its PGP Desktop software into the deep freeze, leaving both users and its own staff in the dark.
[...] Network Associates, which had bought PGP Inc for $35 million in December 1997, put the division up for sale last year, but decided to keep certain parts of the technology in house, making the bundle less attractive to potential purchasers. In fact, NAI dismantled the bundle, removing the IPSEC utility and firewall and the SDK, before putting the entrails in the shop window, according to critics. Not surprisingly, the bowdlerized bundle found no takers, and NA has told its customers - but not its shareholders - that there'll be no more investment in the product beyond maintaining existing support contracts. [...] John Ashcroft has been drumming the beat recently, reminding the tech industry that a "lucrative surveillance state" (in our Tom's words) can be built from the ashes of the September 11 attacks. This obviously doesn't extend to personal privacy software. Are we the only people who find the neglect of PGP somewhat fishy? . http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/24307.html
