The real key to network security is making sure that only the right people get access to particular data. That’s why a digital signature is so much more important to future network security than encryption. If everyone on a net has a unique identifier that others cannot forge, there’s no need to send credit card numbers – and so nothing to intercept. And if everyone has a digital signature, stealing passwords off the Net is pointless.
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: ”What about the rise of networks? Surely encryption can help prevent password attacks like the recent Internet virus, or the interception of credit card numbers as they’re sent from one digital assistant to another? Well, maybe. In fact, encryption is, at best, a small part of network security. The real key to network security is making sure that only the right people get access to particular data. That’s why a digital signature is so much more important to future network security than encryption. If everyone on a net has a unique identifier that others cannot forge, there’s no need to send credit card numbers – and so nothing to intercept. And if everyone has a digital signature, stealing passwords off the Net is pointless. That’s why the Clinton administration is determined to put digital signature technology in the public domain. It’s part of a strategy to improve the security of the information infrastructure in ways that don’t endanger government’s ability to enforce the law.”
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