For one thing, don't think that there won't be provisions made to allow for securing the big money transactions. The backdoors won't jeopardize them, those players won't let that happen - it's the small fry who will bear the brunt of the jeopardy.
Also, think about the details, the only folks who will be held to account are the law-abiding software companies. The terrorists (and other outlaws, like the cocaine cartels) will (and probably have already) cultivate their own local hackers to secure their own communications, sans backdoors.
This isn't a knee-jerk reaction without thought, it's a philosophical judgement on the balance between individuals and institutions, and anyone familiar with Judd Gregg's political history will be unsurprised that he's trying to make hay by getting out front on this issue. Interesting question will be whether the Union Leader wimps out on their lip service to individual rights on this one.
-LBM
"Kenneth E. Lussier" wrote:
Hartnett wrote:
>
> I think the current situation is causing knee-jerk reactions like this to look like a good thing to people.I think that this is very true, but only on the surface. People are
willing to say "Encryption is bad. Outlaw encryption" because they
don't understand the far reaching effects that this will have. Ever
since the WTC bombing, it has been said by politicians, the media, and
the average person on the street that the main target was not the
buildings, or the people, but the economy. If encryption is outlawed,
or forced to be weaker, then our economy is finished. Online banking
will be a thing of the past, as will electronic fund transfers,
electronic stock submission, etc. We will effectively be back in the
1920's where large men with large guns carry large bags of money
around from bank to bank in armored cars. The stock market will have
to go back to paper.The reason that we will be propelled backward in time is because our
economy is based on the principle that money can change hands in an
instant. Now, things could continue to work the way they do, just with
weak encryption. That makes the primary target easier to hit. If they
stop using electronic methods, then the economy comes crashing down.Of course, then there is next logical argument of "Well, everyone
*BUT* the financial industry". OK, So what is going to stop a
terrorist from getting a job in a financial company. Another argument
that will be used is "The encryption can be strong, but a trusted
third party will hold the keys". And now you have a larger target for
crackers than Microsoft and the Pentagon put together.> I guess that government officials such as this Judd Gregg never thought that if such a backdoor exists in a product, that someone who is doing something illegal, is just not going to use such a product. Besides the US cannot enforce this outside the country, and someone could just "roll their own" to fulfill their needs.
> It makes me think that government is just trying to find more ways to intrude easily and take advantage of the current attitude.Again, I don't think that people, especially politicians, are thinking
this all the way through. Attacking technology isn't the answer. A
parallel can be drawn here to the flaws in the logic used by the the
RIAA, and the MPAA. They want to prevent people from using High-tech
means to copy their works. So they encrypt a CD, and there is no
possible way to decrypt or copy it. So, you play it, run a cable from
the output of your sound card to the line in, and record the line in.
There it is. The most effective way to defeat high-tech protection is
by using low-tech methods and a little common sense. If encryption is
easy to break, and phones, landline, cellular, and digital are all
being listened to, and e-mail is watched, write a letter, slap a $0.34
stamp on it, and drop it in the mail. It might take a little longer,
but it is just as effective, and harder to monitor.I think that we need to force out elected officials to see the flaws
in their thinking, and make them realize that those of us that
question authority are the patriots. Unchecked authority was never
supposed to exist in out government. The things that we have at our
disposal are our voices, our votes, and (for the time being) the
internet.C-Ya,
Kenny
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