Hi Folks,There is increasing pressure to allow encryption - that is the use of secret codes that make messages unreadable - over Amateur Radio, and ARRL is now taking on this issue - I fear in the wrong way so far. There are two problems:
1. HIPAA, a law requiring patient privacy by medical providers in the United States, has scared hospitals away from using hams to provide services in an emergency, because we transmit patient data in the clear. At last year's Hamvention, there was a meeting on this issue, where the use of encrypted digital networking was proposed so that Amateurs could transmit information for their served agencies in a secure way.
2. Digital networks - ARRL has a HSMM (high-speed multimedia) network committee and one of their concerns is that they don't want non-hams transmitting over their network. So, they'd like to use encryption. Some of you will realize that this is an authentication, not encryption, problem.
Encryption was an agenda item in the ARRL board meeting from which directors have just returned. I've discussed it with an ARRL director whom I can't quote, but I think it's fair to say they're considering early proposals for rule changes allowing encryption on the Amateur airwaves.
Obviously, encrypted airwaves are private airwaves. It's fundamental to Amateur Radio that anyone can listen in on the messages. This could be a real disaster if ARRL and regulators are not guided well. Here's what I propose to do.
First, the network authentication problem can be solved without encryption and without any rule changes by using the zero-knowledge proof, which nobody involved seems to have understood. We thus need to explain this to ARRL and make sure that any proposals regarding authentication provide the zero-knowledge proof rather than encryption as their technical means.
Second is the HIPAA problem. First, it's necessary to develop a better understanding of HIPAA. Second, it's necessary to make sure that of the communication, _only_ patient information be enciphered, if that. Not any other element of the communication. IMO, we've gone way too far if we have encrypted voice communications for this purpose.
Thanks
Bruce
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