[FYI] Did Encryption Empower These Terrorists?

[Jim Windle]

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On Thu, 13 Sep 2001 18:07:11   Ariel Waissbein wrote:
>I'd say that terrorist do not much care about laws such as a 
>non-encryption law. 

Just as the requirement for photo identification did not prevent the hijackers from boarding the plane.  While the regulation proved ineffective it allowed politicians to puff out their chests and claim they were doing something to protect the people when they put it in place, which of course was the whole point of the exercise.  What concerns me most is that the recording/movie industries will try to attach follow on measures to DMCA as part of what ever anti-terrorism bills are introduced to expand the surveillance powers of the goevernment.  The combination of concern over further vulnerabilities to terrorism and campaign contributions from the recording and movie industries will not only carry the day but stifle in meaningful debate about the measures.  I think it is worth pointing out that the people that staged this attack not only hate and fear America they hate and fear the very ideas that underpin our civilization, and the freedom to discuss those ideas.  So fearful of these ideas in Afghanistan of these ideas that they have banned both television and the internet.  The free flow of ideas and of free commerce are both their greatest fear and weakness.  This is there vulnerability.  Cryptography insures the ability to freely exchange idea, cryptography is the technology that allows internet commerce and trading of financial instruments over the internet.  The creation of cryptographic technologies requires freedom of speech, freedom to publish results, freedom from bureaucratic controls and the freedom exhange ideas and code that can only be fully realized through free communications and travel.  How ironic if we stiffle exactly what our enemies are most afraid in either an attempt to fight those enemies or to placate a special interest group.

Jim Windle





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