There was a great article in todays Globe:
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe/globehtml/254/Tales_from_encryption.htm
It gives some good insight into everything thats going on, and makes a
few good points.
[Jay]
Tales from encryption=20
By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff, 09/11/97=20
Our government fears data-scrambling software
could spawn a
high-tech crime wave. How right they are. I may
end up in prison
myself if the feds continue their present course.=20
Mathematicians have devised encryption systems that
scramble data so
completely it's unreadable without a special key.
With today's cheap, fast
computers, anybody can use this technique to ensure
the secrecy of
computer files, electronic mail messages, even
digital telephone calls.=20
Everyone favors encryption for banks, credit card
companies, and
law-abiding citizens. Alas, the same software works
just as well for
terrorists, mobsters, and pedophiles. So the Clinton
administration is waging
a relentless campaign to stuff the genie back into
the bottle.=20
<SNIP>
This story ran on page D01 of the Boston Globe on
09/11/97.=20
=A9 Copyright 1997 Globe Newspaper Company.