The world will be a safer place if criminals cannot take advantage of a ubiquitous, standardized encryption infrastructure that is immune from any conceivable law enforcement wiretap. Even if you’re worried about illegal government taps, key escrow reinforces the existing requirement that every wiretap and every decryption must be lawfully authorized. The key escrow system means that proof of authority to tap must be certified and audited, so that illegal wiretapping by a rogue prosecutor or police officer is, as a practical matter, impossible.
Predictor: Baker, Stewart
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 article he wrote for Wired, Stewart Baker, chief counsel for the National Security Agency, refuted “seven myths of key escrow encryption.” In it, he writes: ”The world will be a safer place if criminals cannot take advantage of a ubiquitous, standardized encryption infrastructure that is immune from any conceivable law enforcement wiretap. Even if you’re worried about illegal government taps, key escrow reinforces the existing requirement that every wiretap and every decryption must be lawfully authorized. The key escrow system means that proof of authority to tap must be certified and audited, so that illegal wiretapping by a rogue prosecutor or police officer is, as a practical matter, impossible.”
Biography:Stewart Baker was described by The Washington Post (Nov. 20, 1995) as “one of the most techno-literate lawyers around.” Baker’s Washington, D.C., practice covered issues relating to digital commerce, electronic surveillance, encryption, privacy, national security and export controls. (Legislator/Politician/Lawyer.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Communication
Subtopic: Security/Encryption
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: Don’t Worry be Happy: Why Clipper is Good for You
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Crypto/Key_escrow/Clipper/clipper_good_nsa.article
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Beckett, Angela