I thought you might find this interesting
a--
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From: Larry Orr on Wed, Feb 23, 1994 3:27 PM
Subject: Electronic Privacy -- A Call to Action
I am posting this as a matter of concern primarily to US email users.
Larry Orr (acting alone, not as a representative of any group)
>>(Sorry for those of you who have seen this before. For those that
haven't,
>this is a one-time mailing - further mass mailings will only be done
over the
>HotWired mailing list. Thanks!)
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>>To: WIRED Online Information Services <hotwired at wired.com>
>Subject: Electronic Privacy -- A Call to Action
>>>This is a pivotal moment in history.
>>The national security state, with the backing of the Clinton-Gore
>administration, is attempting a stealth strike on our rights. If they
>succeed, we could shortly find ourselves under a government with the
>automated ability to log the time, origin, and recipient of every call
and
>e-mail message, to monitor our most private communications, to track
our
>physical whereabouts continuously, and to keep better account of our
>financial transactions than we do -- all without a warrant.
>>Fact: On Friday, February 4, 1994, the Clinton administration announced
>support for the Clipper Chip and SKIPJACK encryption scheme as national
>standards.
>>Fact: Federal security agencies have been meeting with
telecommunications
>companies to design back doors into the entire National Information
>Infrastructure (NII), including every telephone and data network, even
>including fax machines. In other words, any system connected to the NII
>would be required to include a "back door" in order to facilitate
>monitoring by government agencies.
>>We at WIRED Online believe that the adoption of these administration
>initiatives could result in a profound infringement of individual
freedom
>and privacy, ours as well as yours. We urge you to read the rest of
this
>letter, to examine the available materials, to consider these important
>issues for yourself, and to act to preserve the Bill of Rights in
>cyberspace.
>>The proposed encryption scheme, which uses the SKIPJACK encryption
>algorithm and the Clipper Chip, relies on a "key escrow" system with a
>built-in "back door" so that security agents can decrypt and monitor
even
>supposedly "secure" communications. While the administration claims
that
>there will be "safeguards," the technology was developed by the
virtually
>insular National Security Agency, and its algorithms remain classified.
>>The scope of Clipper is significantly broader than any previous
>surveillance strategy. The Clipper Chip will be installed directly into
>telecommunications devices such as telephones, computers, and digital
set-
>top boxes for interactive TV. Since the system can be used to encrypt
any
>communications that pass across telecommunications lines (including
text,
>sound and images), ANY AND ALL communication that passes through your
>system has the possibility of being intercepted.
>>In addition, the administration's Information Infrastructure Task Force
>Working Group on Privacy is attempting to "front load" the NII with
>trapdoor technologies that would allow security agencies easy access to
>digitial conversations, including capturing electronic communications
>midstream. No communication system would be exempt from this effort,
from
>the national telephone network to your local office computer network.
>>Of course, the administration claims that these trapdoors will be used
only
>to catch criminals and that your privacy will be protected. But, as
John
>Perry Barlow has put it, "trusting the government with your privacy is
like
>trusting a Peeping Tom to install your window blinds."
>>These government inititatives, taken together, constitute one of the
most
>grievous threats to our constitutional liberties in modern times. The
>security agencies and the administration are involved in a stealth
strike
>at our freedoms that could effectively abrogate the Bill of Rights in
>cyberspace, where we and our descendants will be spending increasingly
>larger parts of lives.
>>The Clipper initiative and the plans to require "back doors" throughout
the
>NII demands immediate critical assessment. WIRED encourages you to
>seriously consider how these proposals might affect you. To help inform
>your decision, WIRED Online has set up a Clipper information archive
>through our Infobot mail server, Internet Gopher, World Wide Web, and
other
>online sites.
>>The WIRED Online Clipper Archive features crucial essays written for
WIRED
>by John Perry Barlow and Brock N. Meeks. If you do nothing else, read
these
>stories. You can have them sent to you immediately by electronic mail
by
>copying the following three lines into the body of an electronic mail
>message addressed to infobot at wired.com:
>> send clipper/privacy.meeks
> send clipper/privacy.barlow
> end
>>The WIRED Online Clipper Archive also includes re-posted comments from
>Jerry Berman (of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)) and Dorothy
>Denning (encryption expert and Clipper proponent), a copy of the EFF's
>_EFFector Online_ newsletter documenting the Clipper controversy, and
an
>electronic anti-Clipper petition circulated by the Computer
Professionals
>for Social Responsibility (CPSR). We have also set up links to other
>valuable sources of information on Clipper, including those maintained
by
>the EFF and CPSR.
>>You can access our archive via the following WIRED Online services:
>> o WIRED Infobot e-mail server send e-mail to infobot at wired.com,
> containing the words "send
> clipper/index" on a single
> line inside the message body
>> o WIRED Gopher gopher to gopher.wired.com
> select "Clipper Archive"
>> o WIRED on World Wide Web http://www.wired.com> select "Clipper Archive"
>> o WIRED on America Online keyword: WIRED
>> o WIRED on the WELL type "go wired" from any "OK"
prompt
> type "clipper" to access the menu
>>>WIRED Online encourages you to take the time to familiarize yourself
with
>these issues, beginning with the tools and access we've provided. Then
take
>the next step -- ACT!!!
>>Support the Cantwell bill. Write cantwell at eff.org and put "I support HR
>3627" in the Subject header. This bill is designed to give rise to a
mass-
>market in cryptographic software, which is a necessary step to beating
>Clipper. Feel free to include in your letter to Rep. Maria Cantwell
your
>reasons for supporting the growth of the encryption industry and
reasons
>for opposing Clipper.
>>To call for Senate hearings on Clipper, write Sen. Patrick Leahy to
>leahy at eff.org and express your concern that the Clipper process has
been
>closed to the public.
>>Express your sentiments to Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Indiana, the House
>Committee on Foreign Affairs chair, by e-mailing hamilton at eff.org.>>Sign the CPSR petition against Clipper.
>>Call or write your Congressional representatives and let them know how
you
>feel about the Clipper and NII "backdoor" initiatives, BEFORE a
decision is
>made for you that will have a profound effect on the future of your
freedom
>and privacy.
>>Please do not reply to this message directly. To discuss these issues
with
>WIRED readers and staff members, please use discussion areas on the
WELL,
>America Online, and USENET (alt.wired). If you have question
