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Index |
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Encryption Export Regulations
Encryption
Export Regulations
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Study Guide
Encryption - Privacy vs National Security
The United States has always taken it's national security
very seriously. Obvious manifestations of its security ideology are
the FBI and CIA. Now security, even more so since
9/11, is of paramount importance. Recently new security mechanisms have been
created and new laws have
been enacted in order to ensure that the United States remains safe
from terrorist attack. So what does this have to do with encryption?
Encryption is a tool that we can use to express our right to privacy
(a civil liberty). We protect our email from being read by encrypting
it before we transmit it across the public Internet. This seems harmless
enough but consider how it would help the enemies of the United States?
An example would be if the United States couldn't
decrypt an email fast enough to prevent another 9/11 from happening.
Terrorists willingly exploit the freedoms granted to Americans by
the Constitution
in order to push their deadly agendas. So now we have to consider
limiting
encryption so that it cannot be used by our enemies.
Please consider the following questions:
1) Should high strength encryption be allowed to be used by any American
Citizen or Corporation?
a) If yes, then why so and how can we ensure that terrorists won't exploit
it?
b) If no, then what measures can we take to ensure that our critical
infrastructure (banking, corporate secrets, emails) aren't tampered with?
2) Should high strength encryption be allowed as long as the US
has a "back door" mechanism to get into any encrypted item quickly?
3) Does limiting the export of high encryption devices and software to
select countries really allow the US to ensure it can decipher critical
emails from terrorist?
4) Which is better, security derived through hiding secrets or
security derived by not having them in the first place? How does
this relate to encryption and it's export?
5) Was it a good idea for the United States to develop the AES encryption
standard? Does the algorithm in being public, make it more
vulnerable to it being broken or made useless?
6) The argument can be made that guns don't kill people, people
kill people. Is this argument the same for encryption in it's own way?
7) Does having high strength encryption encourage illegal activities?
8) China currently mandates that the security technologies used
by it's public be decryptable by its government. What does this mean
for US businesses doing business in china? Do you think that this
will limit business and democracy in China?
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