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U.S. Battles Critics of Encryption Policy at Conference

U.S. envoy defends policy that limits strong encryption export.

By Elinor Mills, PCWorld   

David Aaron, U.S. envoy on cryptography to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development explained U.S. policy in a speech at this week%squots RSA Data Security Conference.

%dquotVirtually every government expresses unhappiness%dquot with the new U.S. 56-bit policy, he said. %dquotSome criticize the absence of internal controls%dquot of unlimited domestic encryption strength.

%dquotMy job is to make sure other countries%squot rules don%squott discriminate against U.S. companies%dquot that want to export strong encryption, he said, adding that the Clinton Administration is making a %dquotgood faith effort%dquot to balance law enforcement and individual privacy rights interests.

Aaron cited examples where encryption was used by terrorists in the U.S., by child pornographers, and by drug traffickers. The Clinton Administration plans to propose legislation related to commercial key recovery that will impose penalties for improper key management and address the limitations on liability for certified key recovery agents, Aaron said.

Several members of Congress addressed the conference via satellite before Aarons speech. The representatives who spoke are sponsoring legislation that would replace current law with measures to allow the export of strong encryption without requiring key recovery.

%dquotWe ought to let the Internet users decide what the best system is, not the FBI and NSA,%dquot said Senator Conrad Burns, a Montana Republican, who was joined in the hookup by bill co-sponsors Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, and Representative Robert Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican.

Robert Holleyman, president of the Business Software Alliance, praised the re-introduction of the bills. %dquotIf these measures become law, they will provide U.S. software companies with the chance to compete on a level playing field, and provide their customers with the products they demand,%dquot Holleyman said.