We have the capability of 100-percent privacy. But if we use this I don’t think society can survive.
Predictor: Parker, Donn
Prediction, in context:In a 1993 article for Wired magazine, Steven Levy writes about encryption, quoting security specialist Donn Parker. Levy writes: ”Our personal information – medical information, credit ratings, income – lies unencrypted on databases. Our most intimate secrets rest on our hard disks, sitting ducks. Our phone conversations bounce off satellites, easily pluckable by those sophisticated enough to sort these things out. Our cellular phone conversations are routinely overheard by any goofus with a broadband radio – just ask Prince Charles … In the face of this apparent inevitability – crypto for the masses! – what’s a secret government agency to do? Throw in the towel, let the market determine the strength of the people’s algorithms, and grumpily adjust to the new realities? No way. The government has chosen this moment to dig in and take its last stand. The future of crypto, and our ability to protect our information to the fullest extent, hangs in the balance. The specter of what one Cypherpunk calls ‘Crypto Anarchy’ – where strong, easy-to-use encryption is accessible to all – terrifies those accustomed to the old reality. Perhaps the best expression of these fears comes from Donn Parker, a think-tank computer security specialist who is in synch with the government mindset. ‘We have the capability of 100-percent privacy,’ he says. ‘But if we use this I don’t think society can survive.'”
Date of prediction: May 1, 1993
Topic of prediction: Communication
Subtopic: Security/Encryption
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: Crypto Rebels
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.02/crypto.rebels_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney