RIPA Part III

[Brian Gladman]

Owen Lewis wrote:

>> The government appears to be afraid that
>> people will become accustomed to encryption technology, so very early
>> made policy as if this was a bad, dangerous, tricky, exotic,
>> unreasonable and suspect thing.
> 
> Did you write than c. 1992? You should update your texts :-) The 'crypto
> war' was won by about '96 and everyone else has gone home for their tea and
> crumpets, leaving you lonely, wet and dripping, still standing watch on the
> ramparts. A bit like constantly clicking your fingers to keep the elephants
> out of your living room

You are wrong by about three years.

The crypto war was still in full swing in 1996 and was only finally won
internationally in 1999 after the Wassenaar restrictions on cryptography
collapsed.

I know this very well as I was right at the heart of this campaign
through the second half of the 1990s and wrote the paper that was used
by the Global Internet Liberty Campaign as the basis for its drive to
kill off the Wassenaar restrictions on non-military cryptography.

The paper (http://www.cyber-rights.org/crypto/wassenaar.htm) is dated
September 1998.

The related GILC material (http://www.gilc.org/crypto/wassenaar/) is
also dated September 1998.

The international crypto war was hence won in 1999.  And it carried on a
while longer in the UK.

   Brian Gladman