Better write this one down.

       ... And That's What Encryption Is
       by Wired News Staff 

       2:58pm  9.May.97.PDT It's rare to get a glimpse of the lawmaking
       mind as it churns policy. But with the help of an unnamed
       Washington reporter, the public got a look at how two Democratic
       senators who want to pass a new law on how encryption should be
       used and regulated think about the issue.

       The setting was an informal daily get-together with reporters
       sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota.
       On Thursday, Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska was on hand to announce
       he is sponsoring a cryptography-control bill. We pick up the
       proceedings with a reporter's question to the senators:

       How would you define encryption?

       Daschle: Encryption is the - and Senator Kerrey can do a lot better
       job than I can - but my definition of encryption is to create a
       code by which sensitive information can be protected on the
       Internet....

       Kerrey: Well, I mean, to answer your question, I mean, encryption
       is - the political equivalent of encryption is you ask me a
       question, I give you an answer and you don't understand it. I mean,
       I intentionally garble the answer frequently. I intentionally
       garble the response so that you can't understand what I'm saying.

       And that's - you notice that I've got the ability to do that. I
       don't always do that, but that's what occurs with digital
       communication. The message is scrambled in a way that is very
       difficult to unscramble. And depending upon the power of your
       computer, you in fact may not be able to unscramble it at all.


-b

Bob Antia                                           nagvn@yrsgonax.pbz
The Left Bank Operation, Inc.                       http://www.leftbank.com
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