[226] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: EuroGAK
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Asgaard)
Sat Feb 15 12:36:59 1997
Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 01:31:26 +0100 (MET)
From: Asgaard <asgaard@cor.sos.sll.se>
To: cryptography@c2.net
In-Reply-To: <19970214165053.1481.qmail@squirrel.owl.de>
On 14 Feb 1997, Secret Squirrel wrote:
> 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.
Perhaps an insider, but just talking on record. One important
EU member state, France, already has GAK laws. The going GAK
acronym is TTP (Trusted Third Parties) which is very openly
discussed especially in Great Britain. The EU central bureaucracy
has it's own crypto-politics coordinator: David Herson, an
Englishman. The Scandinavian countries and Holland are stalling,
especially Denmark and Finland.
Read an interview with David Herson at:
http://www.ingenioeren.dk/redaktion/herson.htm
He has a twisted, pragmatic view on things. He states that
the Intelligence Agencies, not general crime prevention,
is the real issue, even if anly about half of the delegations
at the OECD meetings understand that. The espionage institutions
will never set export of strong crypto free. The software
developers who count need to export. Thus, without GAK strong
crypto will never reach the mass market. Packages like PGP
will always be unacceptable to business since one cannot trust
the implementations. So, we need GAK to get business on the
internet going.
He also states that 'Private citizens don't need crypto - this
has been proven'.
Asgaard
