[221] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
EuroGAK
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Secret Squirrel)
Fri Feb 14 17:22:13 1997
Date: 14 Feb 1997 16:50:53 -0000
To: cryptography@c2.net
From: Secret Squirrel <nobody@squirrel.owl.de>
An EU insider writes (paraphrased):
As you say, an EU policy on cryptography requires the utmost care.
We have been following US initiatives closely. The USG's latest proposal
attempts to balance the need for security with the need to tackle crime.
Some EU Member States have begun work possibly leading to Government
access to keys (where legally authorised). Various conventions and laws
set out rights for the citizen and these will be respected.
It is not suggested that access should include signature keys, only
those for message confidentiality (as with police search powers).
comment:
The term "Government access to keys" is used.
No mention of mandatory GAK, or the (in)effectiveness of GAK against crime.
He refers to "message confidentiality ... police search powers"
by which he perhaps means wiretap, rather than search. Or perhaps he means
storage as well as messages.
His "signature keys" does not specify the plan for a dual-purpose key,
but my guess is they would wish to obtain a dual-purpose key if interested in its cyphertext.
