[LINUX:3528] Why do You Need PGP

Ozan Ozkara (ozan@lords.com)
Wed, 10 Feb 1999 10:51:03 +0200 (EET)


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Why do you need PGP?

It's personal. It's private. And it's no one's business but yours. You
may be
planning a political campaign, discussing your taxes, or having an
illicit affair. Or
you may be doing something that you feel shouldn't be illegal, but is.
Whatever it
is, you don't want your private electronic mail (E-mail) or
confidential documents
read by anyone else. There's nothing wrong with asserting your privacy.
Privacy is
as apple-pie as the Constitution.

Perhaps you think your E-mail is legitimate enough that encryption is
unwarranted.
If you really are a law-abiding citizen with nothing to hide, then why
don't you
always send your paper mail on postcards? Why not submit to drug
testing on
demand? Why require a warrant for police searches of your house? Are
you
trying to hide something? You must be a subversive or a drug dealer if
you hide
your mail inside envelopes. Or maybe a paranoid nut. Do law-abiding
citizens have
any need to encrypt their E-mail?

What if everyone believed that law-abiding citizens should use
postcards for
their mail? If some brave soul tried to assert his privacy by using an
envelope for
his mail, it would draw suspicion. Perhaps the authorities would open
his mail to
see what he's hiding. Fortunately, we don't live in that kind of world,
because
everyone protects most of their mail with envelopes. So no one draws
suspicion by
asserting their privacy with an envelope. There's safety in numbers.
Analogously,
it would be nice if everyone routinely used encryption for all their
E-mail,
innocent or not, so that no one drew suspicion by asserting their
E-mail privacy
with encryption. Think of it as a form of solidarity.

Today, if the Government wants to violate the privacy of ordinary
citizens, it has
to expend a certain amount of expense and labor to intercept and steam
open and
read paper mail, and listen to and possibly transcribe spoken telephone

conversation. This kind of labor-intensive monitoring is not practical
on a large
scale. This is only done in important cases when it seems worthwhile.

More and more of our private communications are being routed through
electronic
channels. Electronic mail is gradually replacing conventional paper
mail. E-mail
messages are just too easy to intercept and scan for interesting
keywords. This
can be done easily, routinely, automatically, and undetectably on a
grand scale.
International cablegrams are already scanned this way on a large scale
by the
NSA.

We are moving toward a future when the nation will be crisscrossed with
high
capacity fiber optic data networks linking together all our
increasingly ubiquitous
personal computers. E-mail will be the norm for everyone, not the
novelty it is
today. The Government will protect our E-mail with Government-designed
encryption protocols. Probably most people will acquiesce to that. But
perhaps
some people will prefer their own protective measures.

Senate Bill 266, a 1991 omnibus anti-crime bill, had an unsettling
measure buried
in it. If this non-binding resolution had become real law, it would
have forced
manufacturers of secure communications equipment to insert special trap
doors in
their products, so that the Government can read anyone's encrypted
messages. It
reads:

"It is the sense of Congress that providers of electronic
communications services and manufacturers of electronic
communications service equipment shall insure that communications
systems permit the Government to obtain the plain text contents of

voice, data, and other communications when appropriately
authorized
by law."

This measure was defeated after rigorous protest from civil
libertarians and
industry groups.

In 1992, the FBI Digital Telephony wiretap proposal was introduced to
Congress.
It would require all manufacturers of communications equipment to build
in
special remote wiretap ports that would enable the FBI to remotely
wiretap all
forms of electronic communication from FBI offices. Although it never
attracted
any sponsors in Congress in 1992 because of citizen opposition, it was
reintroduced in 1994.

Most alarming of all is the White House's bold new encryption policy
initiative,
under development at NSA since the start of the Bush administration,
and unveiled
April 16th, 1993. The centerpiece of this initiative is a
Government-built
encryption device, called the Clipper chip, containing a new classified
NSA
encryption algorithm. The Government is encouraging private industry to
design it
into all their secure communication products, like secure phones,
secure FAX, etc.
AT&T is now putting the Clipper into their secure voice products. The
catch: At
the time of manufacture, each Clipper chip will be loaded with its own
unique key,
and the Government gets to keep a copy, placed in escrow. Not to worry,
though --
the Government promises that they will use these keys to read your
traffic only
when duly authorized by law. Of course, to make Clipper completely
effective, the
next logical step would be to outlaw other forms of cryptography.

If privacy is outlawed, only outlaws will have privacy. Intelligence
agencies have
access to good cryptographic technology. So do the big arms and drug
traffickers.
So do defense contractors, oil companies, and other corporate giants.
But
ordinary people and grassroots political organizations mostly have not
had access
to affordable military grade public-key cryptographic technology. Until
now.

PGP empowers people to take their privacy into their own hands. There's
a growing
social need for it. That's why I wrote it.

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Why do you need PGP?

It's personal. It's private. And it's no one's business but yours. You may be
 planning a political campaign, discussing your taxes, or having an illicit affair. Or
 you may be doing something that you feel shouldn't be illegal, but is. Whatever it
 is, you don't want your private electronic mail (E-mail) or confidential documents
 read by anyone else. There's nothing wrong with asserting your privacy. Privacy is
 as apple-pie as the Constitution.

 Perhaps you think your E-mail is legitimate enough that encryption is unwarranted.
 If you really are a law-abiding citizen with nothing to hide, then why don't you
 always send your paper mail on postcards? Why not submit to drug testing on
 demand? Why require a warrant for police searches of your house? Are you
 trying to hide something? You must be a subversive or a drug dealer if you hide
 your mail inside envelopes. Or maybe a paranoid nut. Do law-abiding citizens have
 any need to encrypt their E-mail?

 What if everyone believed that law-abiding citizens should use postcards for
 their mail? If some brave soul tried to assert his privacy by using an envelope for
 his mail, it would draw suspicion. Perhaps the authorities would open his mail to
 see what he's hiding. Fortunately, we don't live in that kind of world, because
 everyone protects most of their mail with envelopes. So no one draws suspicion by
 asserting their privacy with an envelope. There's safety in numbers. Analogously,
 it would be nice if everyone routinely used encryption for all their E-mail,
 innocent or not, so that no one drew suspicion by asserting their E-mail privacy
 with encryption. Think of it as a form of solidarity.

 Today, if the Government wants to violate the privacy of ordinary citizens, it has
 to expend a certain amount of expense and labor to intercept and steam open and
 read paper mail, and listen to and possibly transcribe spoken telephone
 conversation. This kind of labor-intensive monitoring is not practical on a large
 scale. This is only done in important cases when it seems worthwhile.

 More and more of our private communications are being routed through electronic
 channels. Electronic mail is gradually replacing conventional paper mail. E-mail
 messages are just too easy to intercept and scan for interesting keywords. This
 can be done easily, routinely, automatically, and undetectably on a grand scale.
 International cablegrams are already scanned this way on a large scale by the
 NSA.

 We are moving toward a future when the nation will be crisscrossed with high
 capacity fiber optic data networks linking together all our increasingly ubiquitous
 personal computers. E-mail will be the norm for everyone, not the novelty it is
 today. The Government will protect our E-mail with Government-designed
 encryption protocols. Probably most people will acquiesce to that. But perhaps
 some people will prefer their own protective measures.

 Senate Bill 266, a 1991 omnibus anti-crime bill, had an unsettling measure buried
 in it. If this non-binding resolution had become real law, it would have forced
 manufacturers of secure communications equipment to insert special trap doors in
 their products, so that the Government can read anyone's encrypted messages. It
 reads:

      "It is the sense of Congress that providers of electronic
      communications services and manufacturers of electronic
      communications service equipment shall insure that communications
      systems permit the Government to obtain the plain text contents of
      voice, data, and other communications when appropriately authorized
      by law."

 This measure was defeated after rigorous protest from civil libertarians and
 industry groups.

 In 1992, the FBI Digital Telephony wiretap proposal was introduced to Congress.
 It would require all manufacturers of communications equipment to build in
 special remote wiretap ports that would enable the FBI to remotely wiretap all
 forms of electronic communication from FBI offices. Although it never attracted
 any sponsors in Congress in 1992 because of citizen opposition, it was
 reintroduced in 1994.

 Most alarming of all is the White House's bold new encryption policy initiative,
 under development at NSA since the start of the Bush administration, and unveiled
 April 16th, 1993. The centerpiece of this initiative is a Government-built
 encryption device, called the Clipper chip, containing a new classified NSA
 encryption algorithm. The Government is encouraging private industry to design it
 into all their secure communication products, like secure phones, secure FAX, etc.
 AT&T is now putting the Clipper into their secure voice products. The catch: At
 the time of manufacture, each Clipper chip will be loaded with its own unique key,
 and the Government gets to keep a copy, placed in escrow. Not to worry, though --
 the Government promises that they will use these keys to read your traffic only
 when duly authorized by law. Of course, to make Clipper completely effective, the
 next logical step would be to outlaw other forms of cryptography.

 If privacy is outlawed, only outlaws will have privacy. Intelligence agencies have
 access to good cryptographic technology. So do the big arms and drug traffickers.
 So do defense contractors, oil companies, and other corporate giants. But
 ordinary people and grassroots political organizations mostly have not had access
 to affordable military grade public-key cryptographic technology. Until now.

 PGP empowers people to take their privacy into their own hands. There's a growing
 social need for it. That's why I wrote it.
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