ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 7, 1997 TAG: 9703070034
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
President Clinton is insisting on an anti-crime key for unlocking computerized encryption products. It won't work, and could put U.S. high-tech exporters at a disadvantage.
THE CLINTON administration is still trying to keep powerful encryption products, available in the United States, away from international terrorists and criminals. It won't work. Instead, the policy is putting U.S. information-technology companies at an unnecessary disadvantage against global competitors.
Encryption is computer technology that encodes electronic communications and information, to protect them from high-tech eavesdropping and tampering. The administration is allowing U.S. manufacturers to export sophisticated encryption products, but only if they agree to develop and sell a decoding system along with them.
The idea is for a third party to hold a key, in a sort of escrow, for unlocking encrypted messages. By court order, the key could be turned over to U.S. law-enforcement agencies, for decoding communications between suspected international terrorists, drug smugglers and other criminals.
That would be reassuring, if it worked. Trouble is, the bad guys already can buy state-of-the-art encryption products, without such restrictions, from manufacturers in other countries. So can legitimate businesses that for valid reasons don't want to entrust a third party with a key to their secrets. The result: Foreign buyers who want encryption built into their electronic business and communications systems look to overseas rather than U.S. manufacturers to provide them.
Sixth District Congressman Bob Goodlatte of Roanoke has introduced legislation to ensure that U.S. companies will be free to export encrypted computer products without a "key recovery" system, so long as the encryption is no more sophisticated than what's already commercially available elsewhere in the world. Congress should act to give the computer industry this type of relief.
Not only is the administration's unworkable policy hurting U.S. exporters; it is also, ironically, making computer users more vulnerable to crime. Encryption is used most by banks and other businesses for the transmission of confidential data. They need state-of-the-art encryption to prevent criminals from tapping in.
Hobbling U.S. exports may keep such encryption capability out of the hands of some legitimate businesses. It most assuredly will not keep it out of the hands of the illegitimate ones.
LENGTH: Short : 50 linesby CNB