02 Apr 1998
An FBI climbdown on insisting manufacturers include key recovery software with their encryption products changes the whole debate on cryptography in the UK.
The FBI made the cryptography concession before a US Senate hearing on internet regulation and security. The about-turn came in the face of heavy lobbying from the software industry.
Barry Smith, an FBI supervisory agent, said: "Law enforcement is concerned that we have the technical capability under strict legal procedures to gain access to the plain text of criminally related communications. We're willing to see if we can meet our goals through good faith dialogue."
Chris Sundt, a member of International Commerce Exchange, said: "This changes the goalposts. The law enforcement argument for key recovery goes away."
Sundt said the delayed arrival of UK Government policy on encryption creates uncertainty and makes it more difficult to implement, for example, 128-bit Netscape e-commerce applications.
Last year the FBI alarmed the US computer industry by insisting on legislation banning the uncontrolled use of encryption.
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