Legal compulsion and crypto

Chris Ritson C.R.Ritson at newcastle.ac.uk
Tue, 7 Jul 1998 09:03:43 +0100


In Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19980706194825.00fa8540@mail.netkonect.co.uk>
Nicholas Bohm said (in part) :

>The fact that you cannot produce a copy of a document
>because you have destroyed it justifies your not producing it on subpoena,
>in principle.  But if in practice the judge disbelieves you, then you may
>find yourself in hot water.  The same will no doubt be true of the
>principles which in due course cover compulsory decryption.

So the judge's opinion may possibly be influenced by the normal behaviour
of any expert witnesses. Will it become the norm to use frequently changed
(and destroyed) keys for e-mail etc?

Chris Ritson
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