If encryption comes into widespread use on the information superhighway, this could seriously jeopardize law enforcement and the public safety. Encryption is also a threat to foreign intelligence operations, and thus can affect national security.
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: ”The Dilemma: By providing a mechanism for secrecy and authentication, cryptography can help protect against many … criminal activities …, including eavesdropping and espionage, system penetrations leading to sabotage, malicious software, and fraud. It can also be used to conceal crimes and malicious code. Employees can use encryption to leak company secrets, hide an embezzlement scheme, cover up a fraud, or hold information for ransom. Organized crime and terrorist groups can use it to protect their communications and computer files from unlawful interception and search by the government. By rendering communications and stored records immune from government access, encryption thus threatens investigations that depend on wiretaps or computer records for evidence. Already, investigations of child pornography cases have been hindered because seized computer files were encrypted with PGP [encryption software] and could not be broken. If encryption comes into widespread use on the information superhighway, this could seriously jeopardize law enforcement and the public safety. Encryption is also a threat to foreign intelligence operations, and thus can affect national security.”
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