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EFFector Online Volume 07 No. 03      Feb. 09, 1994       editors@eff.org

A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation        ISSN 1062-9424

EFF Wants YOU! (to add your voice to the crypto fight)

Administration Announces Cold War Attitude on Crypto, Pushes Clipper

Statement of Vice President Gore

Statement of the White House Press Secretary

Attorney General Janet Reno Key Escrow Agents Press Release

Statement of Dr. M. Harris, Dep. Asst. Secy. of State for PMA

Volunteers/Information Needed for EFF Diskettes

What You Can Do

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: EFF Wants YOU! (to add your voice to the crypto fight)

---------------------------------------------------------------

                     * DISTRIBUTE WIDELY *

Monday, February 7th, 1994

From: Jerry Berman, Executive Director of EFF

      jberman@eff.org

Dear Friends on the Electronic Frontier,

action. On Friday, February 4, 1994, the Administration announced that it

a national standard, and to discourage the development and sale of

alternative powerful encryption technologies. If the government succeeds

n this effort, the resulting blow to individual freedom and privacy could

be immeasurable.

As you know, over the last three years, we at EFF have worked to ensure

freedom and privacy on the Net. Now I'm writing to let you know about

moment to send e-mail to U.S. Rep. Maria Cantwell (cantwell@eff.org) to

encryption software.* I believe this bill is critical to empowering

ordinary citizens to use strong encryption, as well as to ensuring that

the U.S. software industry remains competitive in world markets.

Here are some facts about the bill:

Rep. Cantwell introduced H.R. 3627 in the House of Representatives on

November 22, 1993.  H.R. 3627 would amend the Export Control Act to move

authority over the export of nonmilitary software with encryption

capabilities from the Secretary of State (where the intelligence community

traditionally has stalled such exports) to the Secretary of Commerce. The

bill would also invalidate the current license requirements for

nonmilitary software containing encryption capabilities, unless there is

not include strong encryption capabilities in their products, because the

State Department refuses to license for export any encryption technology

that the NSA can't decipher. Developing two products, one with less secure

exportable encryption, would lead to costly duplication of effort, so even

The lack of widespread commercial encryption products means that it will

be very easy for the federal government to set its own standard--the

Clipper Chip standard. As you may know, the government's Clipper Chip

nitiative is designed to set an encryption standard where the government

Telephony bill, which is aimed at making our telephone and computer

networks "wiretap-friendly," the Clipper Chip marks a dramatic new effort

on the part of the government to prevent us from being able to engage in

truly private conversations.

We've been fighting Clipper Chip and Digital Telephony in the policy arena

and will continue to do so. But there's another way to fight those

nitiatives, and that's to make sure that powerful alternative encryption

technologies are in the hands of any citizen who wants to use them. The

explicitly banning alternative technologies, it can limit your choices for

Here's what you can do: 

Subject header of your message, type "I support HR 3627." In the body of

your message, express your reasons for supporting the bill. EFF will

of support from the Net community, Rep. Cantwell can tell her colleagues

on Capitol Hill that encryption is not only an industry concern, but also

a grassroots issue. *Again: remember to put "I support HR 3627" in your

Subject header.*

This is the first step in a larger campaign to counter the efforts of

those who would restrict our ability to speak freely and with privacy.

Write to cantwell@eff.org today.

Sincerely,

Jerry Berman

Executive Director, EFF

e-mail to cantwell-info@eff.org. To join EFF, write membership@eff.org.

The text of the Cantwell bill can be found with the any of the following

URLs (Universal Resource Locators):

ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/EFF/Policy/Legislation/cantwell.bill

A summary of the bill and statement from Cantwell can be found at:

ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/EFF/Policy/Legislation/cantwell.summary

(cantwell.summary is the same file you get by mailing to

cantwell-info@eff.org)

---------------------------------

Subject: Administration Announces Cold War Attitude on Crypto, Pushes Clipper

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

At two briefings, Feb. 4, 1994, the Clinton Administration and various

agencies gave statements before a Congressional committee, and later

and privacy advocates.  The Electronic Frontier Foundation's position,

based on what we have seen and heard from the Administration today, is

that the White House is set on a course that pursues Cold War national

The news is grim.  The Administration is:

 * not backing down on Clipper

 * not backing down on key escrow

 * not backing down on selection of escrow agents

 * already adamant on escrowed key access procedures

 * not willing to elminate ITAR restrictions

 * hiding behind exaggerated threats of "drug dealers" and "terrorists"

The material released to the industry and advocacy version of the briefing

availability from goverment access sites, one might add).  See below for

No information regarding the Congressional committee version of the briefing

"The White House and other officials briefed industry on its Clipper chip

and encryption review. While the review is not yet complete, they have

a new Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) next Wednesday. [Feb.

to use. They are actively asking other vendors to jump in to make the

market a Clipper market. Export licensing processes will be speeded up but

export restrictions will not be lifted in the interests of national

competition with Clipper from other powerful encryption schemes by making

them difficult to market, and to "prevent" strong encryption from leaving

the country, thus supposedly making the job of law enforcement and

ntelligence more difficult.  Again, in the interest of "national

on how other governments will view this.  Treasury and NIST will be the

escrow agents and Justice asserted that there was no necessity for

legislation to implement the escrow procedures.

"I asked if there would be a report to explain the rationale for choosing

these results - we have no explanation of the Administration's thinking, or

any brief in support of the results. They replied that there would be no

the issue.

"One Administation spokesperson said this was the Bosnia of

Telecommunications. I asked, if this was so, how, in the absense of some

as our policy in Bosnia?"

The announcements, authorization procedures for release of escrowed keys,

and q-and-a documents from the private sector briefing are online at EFF.

They are:

"Statement of the [White House] Press Secretary" [White House]

file://ftp.eff.org/pub/EFF/Policy/Crypto/wh_press_secy.statement

"Statement of the Vice President" [very short - WH]

file://ftp.eff.org/pub/EFF/Policy/Crypto/gore_crypto.statement

"Attorney General Makes Key Escrow Encryption Announcements" [Dept. of Just.]

file://ftp.eff.org/pub/EFF/Policy/Crypto/reno_key_escrow.statement

"Authorization Procedures for Release pf Emcryption Key Components in

Conjunction with Intercepts Pursuant to Title III/State Statutes/FISA"

[3 docs. in one file - DoJ]

file://ftp.eff.org/pub/EFF/Policy/Crypto/doj_escrow_intercept.rules

"Working Group on Data Security" [WH]

file://ftp.eff.org/pub/EFF/Policy/Crypto/interagency_workgroup.announce

"Statement of Dr. Martha Harris Dep. Asst. Secy. of State for Polit.-Mil.

Affairs: Encryption - Export Control Reform" [Dept. of State]

file://ftp.eff.org/pub/EFF/Policy/Crypto/harris_export.statement

"Questions and Answers about the Clinton Administration's Encryption 

file://ftp.eff.org/pub/EFF/Policy/Crypto/wh_crypto.q-a

These files are available for anonymous ftp, or via gopher and the Web:

Gopher access:

WWW/Mosiac access: 

All 7 of these documents will be posted widely on the net.

[They will also be posted to CIS and AOL, and many are reproduced in this

ssue of EFFector.]

---------------------------------

Subject: Statement of Vice President Gore

-----------------------------------------

Today's announcements on encryption represent important steps in 

the implementation of the Administration's policy on this critical 

ssue. Our policy is designed to provide better encryption to

ndividuals and businesses while ensuring that the needs of law

enforcement and national security are met.

Encryption is a law and order issue since it can be used by criminals 

to thwart wiretaps and avoid detection and prosecution. It also has 

turned the tide in the Pacific and elsewhere during World War II.

---------------------------------

Subject: Statement of the White House Press Secretary

-----------------------------------------------------

Last April, the Administration announced a comprehensive 

nteragency review of encryption technology, to be overseen by the

National Security Council. Today, the Administration is taking a 

number of steps to implement the recommendations resulting from 

that review.

Advanced encryption technology offers individuals and businesses 

an inexpensive and easy way to encode data and telephone 

conversations. Unfortunately, the same encryption technology that 

can help Americans protect business secrets and personal privacy 

can also be used by terrorists, drug dealers, and other criminals.

the needs of law enforcement and national security. The Clinton 

Administration has sought to balance these needs with the needs of 

businesses and individuals for security and privacy. That is why, 

today the National Institute of Standards ant Technology (NIST) is 

committing to ensure a royalty-free, public-domain Digital Signature 

Standard. Over many years, NIST has been developing digital 

and sender of an electronic message. Such technology will be critical 

for a wide range of business applications for the National 

ndividuals to transact business electronically rather than having to

exchange signed paper contracts. The Administration has determined 

that such technology should not be subject to private royalty 

Last April, the Administration released the Key Escrow chip (also 

known as the "Clipper Chip") that would provide Americans with 

enforcement agencies to carry out legally authorized wiretaps. Today, 

the Department of Commerce and the Department of Justice are 

taking steps to enable the use of such technology both in the U.S. and 

overseas. At the same time, the Administration is announcing its 

ntent to work with industry to develop other key escrow products

that might better meet the needs of individuals and industry, 

ndustry. Specific steps being announced today include:

-  Approval by the Commerce Secretary of the Escrowed Encryption     

   Standard (EES) as a voluntary Federal Information Processing    

   Standard, which will enable government agencies to purchase the  

   Key Escrow chip for use with telephones and modems. The 

   department's National Institute of Standards and Technology   

   (NIST) will publish the standard.

-  Publication by the Department of Justice of procedures for the     

   release of escrowed keys and the announcement of NIST and the 

   Automated Services Division of the Treasury Department as the 

   escrow agents that will store the keys needed for decryption of 

   communications using the Key Escrow chip. Nothing in these 

   procedures will diminish the existing legal and procedural 

   requirements that protect Americans from unauthorized wiretaps.

-  New procedures to allow export of products containing the Key 

   Escrow chip to most countries.

current export regulations in order to help American companies sell 

their products overseas. In the past, it could take weeks for a 

company to obtain an export license for encryption products, and 

each shipment might require a separate license. The new procedures 

announced today will substantially reduce administrative delays and 

To implement the Administration's encryption policy, an interagency 

Working Group on Encryption and Telecommunications has been 

established. It will be chaired by the White House Office of Science 

and Technology Policy and the National Security Council and will 

nclude representatives of the Departments of Commerce, Justice,

State, and Treasury as well as the FBI, the National Security Agency, 

the Office of Management and Budget, and the National Economic 

Council. This group will work with industry and public-interest 

The Administration is expanding its efforts to work with industry to 

mprove on the Key Escrow chip, to develop key-escrow software,

and to examine alternatives to the Key Escrow chip. NIST will lead 

these efforts and will request additional staff and resources for this 

We understand that many in industry would like to see all 

encryption products exportable. However, if encryption technology is 

made freely available worldwide, it would no doubt be used 

extensively by terrorists, drug dealers, and other criminals to harm 

Americans both in the U.S. and abroad. For this reason, the 

Administration will continue to restrict export of the most 

ntelligence gathering capability and because of the concerns of our

allies who fear that strong encryption technology would inhibit their 

law enforcement capabilities.

At the same time, the Administration understands the benefits that 

encryption and related technologies can provide to users of 

computers and telecommunications networks. Indeed, many of the 

applications of the evolving National Information Infrastructure will 

forms of encryption that can protect privacy and corporate secrets 

conduct legally authorized wiretaps. That is also why the 

Administration is committed to make available free of charge a 

Digital Signature Standard.

The Administration believes that the steps being announced today 

they need without compromising the capability of law enforcement 

agencies and national intelligence agencies. Today, any American can 

Administration does not intend to change that policy. Nor do we have 

any intention of restricting domestic encryption or mandating the use 

of a particular technology.

---------------------------------

Subject: Attorney General Janet Reno Key Escrow Agents Press Release

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Attorney General Janet Reno today announced selection of the two 

U.S. Government entities that will hold the escrowed key 

components for encryption using the key escrow encryption method. 

At the same time, the Attorney General made public procedures 

under which encryption key components will be released to 

lawful wiretaps.

Key Escrow Encryption (formerly referred to as Clipper Chip ) 

commercial telecommunications products of chips that provide 

extremely strong encryption, but can be decrypted, when necessary, 

by government agencies conducting legally authorized wiretaps. 

Decryption is accomplished by use of keys--80-bit binary numbers--

that are unique to each individual encryption chip. Each unique 

key is in turn split into two components, which must be recombined 

n order to decrypt communications. Knowing one component does not

make decryption any more feasible than not knowing either one.

The two escrow agents are the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology (NIST), a part of the Department of Commerce, and the 

Automated Systems Division of the Department of the Treasury. The 

two escrow agents were chosen because of their abilities to 

to respond in a timely fashion when wiretaps encounter encrypted 

communications. In addition, NIST is responsible for establishing 

Federal computer systems.

The escrow agents will act under strict procedures, which are 

being made public today, that will ensure the security of the key 

components and govern their release for use in conjunction with 

lawful wiretaps. They will be responsible for holding the key 

components: for each chip, one agent will hold one of the key 

components, and the second agent will hold the other. Neither will 

When an authorized government agency encounters suspected key-

escrow encryption, a written request will have to be submitted to 

the two escrow agents. The request will, among other things, have 

to identify the responsible agency and the individuals involved; 

certify that the agency is involved in a lawfully authorized 

encryption chip being used. In every case, an attorney involved in 

the investigation will have to provide the escrow agents assurance 

that a validly authorized wiretap is being conducted.

Upon receipt of a proper request, the escrow agents will transmit 

their respective key components to the appropriate agency. The 

components will be combined within a decrypt device, which only 

then will be able to decrypt communications protected by key-

escrow encryption. When the wiretap authorization ends, the device 

The Department of Justice will, at the various stages of the 

---------------------------------

Subject: Statement of Dr. M. Harris, Dep. Asst. Secy. of State for PMA 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Secretary of State is announcing today measures arising from 

the Administration's decision to reform export control procedures 

applicable to products incorporating encryption technology. These 

unnecessary controls and ensure efficient implementation. The 

manufacturers to compete more effectively in the global market. 

While there will be no changes in the types of equipment 

controlled by the Munitions List, we are announcing measures to 

expedite licensing.

Last year the President announced an initiative to encourage U.S. 

manufacturers and users of encryption to take advantage of a 

excellent security while ensuring that the Government has a means 

to decode the encryption when lawfully authorized, such as when 

executing a court-authorized warrant in connection with a criminal 

nvestigation. At the time he announced this initiative, the

are announcing today result from that review.

The President has determined that vital U.S. national security and 

law enforcement interests compel maintaining appropriate control 

of encryption. Still, there is much that can be done to reform 

existing controls to ensure that they are efficiently implemented 

and to maintain U.S. leadership in the world market for encryption 

technology. Accordingly, the President has asked the Secretary of 

State to take immediate action to implement a number of procedural 

* License Reform: Under new licensing arrangements, encryption 

manufacturers will be able to ship their products from the United 

States directly to customers within approved regions without 

obtaining individual licenses for each end user. This will improve 

the ability of our manufacturers to provide expedited delivery of 

also reduce the number of individual license requests, especially 

for small businesses that cannot afford international 

* Rapid review of export license applications: A significant 

number of encryption export license applications can be reviewed 

more quickly. For such exports, we have set a license turnaround 

* Personal use exemption: We will no longer require that U.S. 

citizens obtain an export license prior to taking encryption 

business travelers.

* Allow exports of key-escrow encryption: After initial review, 

key-escrow encryption products may now be exported to most end 

users. Additionally, key-escrow products will qualify for special 

licensing arrangements.

These reforms should have the effect of minimizing the impact of 

export controls on U.S. industry. The Department of State will 

take all appropriate actions to ensure that these reforms are 

mplemented as quickly as possible. The Secretary of State asks

that encryption product manufacturers evaluate the impact of these 

The contact point for further information on these reforms is Rose 

Biancaniello, Office of Defense Trade Controls, Bureau of 

---------------------------------

Subject: Volunteers/Discounts Needed for EFF Diskettes 

------------------------------------------------------

EFF is updating it's "Frontier Files" disk and needs to make 500 hundred

DOS and 100 Macintosh duplicates this month.  We are looking for

volunteers who can do the duplication onto 3 1/2" DD disks or pointers to free

and/or reduced rate mass duplication services.  EFF is also seeking a

volunteer to format and produce an Amiga version of the Files in a

quantity of about 50.  EFF will of course pay for or provide the diskettes.

The Frontier Files will include EFF newsletters and papers, legal

nformation, net documents like the "Big Dummy's Guide to the Internet"

and more.  A notice will be posted in EFFector as soon as the disks are

available for distribution.

E-mail info to Sarah Simpson, Membership Coordinator 

------------------------------

Subject: What You Can Do

------------------------

"Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping 

tom to install your window blinds."    

     - John Perry Barlow, EFF co-founder, "Decrypting the Puzzle Palace"

The Electronic Frontier Foundation believes that individuals should be

able to ensure the privacy of their personal communications through any

technological means they choose.  However, the government's current

Rep. Maria Cantwell has introduced a bill (H.R. 3627) in the House that

needs vocal support if the bill is to make it out of the committee stage.  

Background and analysis of the bill are available from an automailer by

The decisions that are made today will affect our futures indefinitely.  

EFF is a respected voice for the rights of users of online technologies

and EFF members receive regular online updates on the issues that affect

our online communications and particpate in shaping the future.

We feel that the best way to protect your online rights is to be fully

nformed and to make your opinions heard.  EFF members are informed, and

are making a difference.  Join EFF today!

------------------------------

MEMBERSHIP IN THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION

================================================

  Attn: Membership Coordinator

  Electronic Frontier Foundation

  1001 G St. NW, Suite 950 East 

  Washington DC 20001 USA

SIGN ME UP!

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End of EFFector Online v07 #03

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