[Encryption] just has to cost more to break than it would cost the bad guys to bribe your cleaning lady.
Predictor: Baker, Stewart
Prediction, in context:A 1995 article in the newspaper The Independent (London) discusses hackers, security and encryption. The writer, Andrew Brown, quotes Stewart Baker: ”The real difficulty was that most governments seem to want only encryption which governments can crack to be legal, which is technically impossible. However, Stewart Baker, a former lawyer for the National Security Agency, said encryption need not be perfect to work: ‘[Encryption] just has to cost more to break than it would cost the bad guys to bribe your cleaning lady.'”
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, 1995
Topic of prediction: Communication
Subtopic: Security/Encryption
Name of publication: Independent
Title, headline, chapter name: Fears Grow of a Crime Spree in Cyberspace
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=574880291f81c9646df5abfb6d80c69a&_docnum=5&wchp=dGLbVlb-lSlzV&_md5=8094c582891ef567c86a90cb1acadae3
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Beckett, Angela