Encryption can protect against espionage, sabotage, and fraud. But it is a dual-edged sword in that it can also enable criminal activity and interfere with foreign intelligence operations. Thus, the role of encryption on the information superhighway poses a major dilemma.
Predictor: Denning, Dorothy
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 article for the Journal of Criminal Justice Education, Dorothy Denning writes about a growing Internet marketplace and the risk of emerging computer criminals: ”One information security tool that is particularly useful against crime is encryption, the scrambling of data in such manner that it can be unscrambled only with knowledge of a secret key. Encryption can protect against espionage, sabotage, and fraud. But it is a dual-edged sword in that it can also enable criminal activity and interfere with foreign intelligence operations. Thus, the role of encryption on the information superhighway poses a major dilemma. This dilemma has been the topic of considerable dialogue and debate ever since the Clinton administration announced the Clipper Chip, a special-purpose encryption chip designed to meet the needs of individuals and society both for communications security and privacy protection and for law enforcement and national security. The outcome of the debate is likely to have considerable implications for criminal justice.”
Biography:Dorothy Denning was a professor and chair of Computer Science at Georgetown University in the 1990s, by which time she had been in the field of computer security and cryptography for two decades. Previous to her arrival at GU, she worked at Digital Equipment Corporation, SRI International and Purdue University. Her books include “Cryptography and Data Security” and “Information Warfare and Security.” She authored many Internet research studies. She was the first president of the International Association for Cryptologic Research. (Research Scientist/Illuminator.)
Date of prediction: December 13, 1994
Topic of prediction: Communication
Subtopic: Security/Encryption
Name of publication: Journal of Criminal Justice Education
Title, headline, chapter name: Crime and Crypto on the Information Superhighway
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.cs.georgetown.edu/~dennning/crypto/Crime-and-Crypto.txt
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney