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                Date: 1999-03-04
                 
                 
                Bloedsinn Key Escrow: Nix capito im UK
                
                 
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      Was wünscht sich der UK National Criminal Intelligence Service vom  
Gesetzgeber? Schlüsselhinterlegung [key escrow], um  
vreschlüsselte Kommunikation nach Belieben in Echtzeit  
aufzumachen. 
Das British Post Office dient sich ab dato als Schlüsseldeponie  
[Trusted Third Party] an.    
 
Dagegen sind eh nur die Industrie, die eine Abwanderung des  
Geschäfts in Drittstaaten fürchtet, die sichere Datenübertragung  
garantieren sowie der bekannte Aktivist & Professor zu Cambridge  
Ross Anderson, der die Hinterlegerei naturgemäss für ausgemachten  
Blödsinn hält. 
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Tuesday, March 2, 1999 Published at 17:18 GMT  
Cyber-criminals would be caught if the government introduced a  
system where the keys to coded e-mail were voluntarily lodged with  
licensed authorities, according to the UK National Criminal  
Intelligence Service (NCIS).  
 
NCIS was one of the groups appearing before the House of  
Commons on Tuesday.  
 
"Criminals are lazy, greedy and they make mistakes," John Abbott,  
NCIS Director General told the Trade and Industry Select Committee,  
which is hearing witnesses on electronic commerce issues.  
.... 
Civil liberties groups are campaigning against "key escrow" - the  
term used for lodging codes with a third party. They do not want it  
included in a forthcoming Electronic Commerce Bill.  
... 
Opponents argue the proposed voluntary licensing system where  
Trusted Third Parties (TTPs) would hold the keys to encrypted data  
being sent over the Internet would never be used by criminals.  
.... 
"We would prefer to have a mandatory licensing system because  
that would be more inclusive," said Mr Abbott.  
.... 
The Chief Investigations Officer of HM Customs & Excise, Richard  
Kellaway, told the hearing that real-time access was needed to  
encrypted data. Mr Abbott added that it was no use knowing three  
days afterwards where a consignment of drugs had been exchanged.  
 
He admitted that key escrow would not solve the problem of crimes  
being committed on an international scale over the Internet.  
.... 
Businesses, as well as civil liberties campaigners, have voiced  
concern at the possible proposals on key escrow, and the Post  
Office stated its opposition at the hearing.  
 
Jerry Cope, its managing director for strategy, said there were two  
areas of concern: "If people feel this system makes them less  
secure then they will not want to use it. We need to instil confidence.  
 
"Then there is the additional cost of regulation and if it is greater than  
in France or Ireland then business will go elsewhere. It is as easy to  
send e- mail from London to Manchester via Paris as it is direct from  
London to Manchester."  
... 
The Post Office will announce later this month that it is launching a  
Trusted Third Party service called ViaCode.  
.... 
The final witness of the day, a leading encryption expert, Dr Ross  
Anderson of Cambridge University, compared key escrow to the red  
flag that had to be waved in front of the first motor cars to warn  
people of danger.  
 
A week after the requirement was removed, there was the first road  
traffic fatality. But no-one would suggest we go back to the red flag  
today and the assumption is made by the police that 99% of those  
on the road are good guys, he said.  
 
He added that the police had a long way to go with computers to  
match their current knowledge of the motor car. They had often had  
to call in outsiders such as himself to help with encryption cases.  
 
"There are many, many ways of attacking computer systems and  
inevitably TTPs are going to be compromised," he said. "The role of  
government should be protecting the consumer - big business can  
look after itself."  
 
He said the best way forward in terms of legislation was the  
Australian approach that simply recognised that electronic  
signatures had the same force as manuscript signatures.  
 
"Key escrow would have to be global to achieve its stated purpose,  
and there is now no prospect of this," he said in an additional written  
submission to the committee.  
 
full story 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_289000/289139.stm  
 
relayed byYaman Akdeniz via Fearghas McKay <fm@mids.org> via 
mea culpa <jericho@dimensional.com> via  <isn@repsec.com>  
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edited by Harkank 
published on: 1999-03-04 
comments to office@quintessenz.at
                   
                  
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