Study Guide

1. Reasons for encrypting data on the Internet.
   • Privacy:
     
     • Do you want someone reading your personal mail?
   • Commercial Necessity:
     
     • When you buy a CD over the Internet, do you really want someone else to see your credit card number?
   • Corporate Security:
   • To keep data out of the hands of competitors.
   • To prevent information from becoming permanently encrypted by disgruntled employees.
   
   
   
2. The concept of key escrow.
   • Digital Privacy, See: Pros and Cons - second paragraph
   • There is a great deal of concern that by having key escrow that the safety of society is compromised.
     • Key escrow systems protect society
       • On the danger of encryption and the benefits of key escrow
     • Total encryption also protects society
       • Interview with author of PGP (See: South America)
     • Protection against lost keys
       • Companies can use key escrow to protect vital corporate information incases where workers may permanently encrypt information making it useless to the company. With the key escrow system, the information will always be recoverable.
       
       
       
3. Crime control
   
   • Encryption would allow criminals to conduct business over communications lines making wiretaps useless.
   • See: police
   • See: "myth number two"
     
     • Criminals aren't stupid and many will find ways to encrypt their communications and keep it from the eyes of the law.
     • How do we prevent criminals from doing this?
       • Make unapproved government encryption schemes illegal.
         • Declassified Documents
         
         
         
4. Government misuse
   • Example: With incidents such as the Iran-Contra deal, Whitewater, and White House FBI background check scandal it is difficult to be optimistic about the government's ability to responsibly handle the use of escrowed keys.
     • See: Concern 7
     • See: political technology
   • Can we trust the government with this kind of responsibility?
   • Objections by foreign governments
     • See:Concern: 4