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[FYI] Did Encryption Empower These Terrorists?



http://www.msnbc.com/news/627390_asp.htm

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Did Encryption Empower These Terrorists?  

And would restricting crypto have given the authorities a change to 
stop these acts? 

By Steven Levy 

NEWSWEEK WEB EXCLUSIVE  

Sept. 11 — “Well, I guess this is the end now. . . .” So wrote the 
first Netizen to address today’s tragedy on the popular discussion 
group, sci.crypt. The posting was referring what seems like an 
inevitable reaction to the horrific terrorist act: an attempt to roll 
back recent relaxations on encryption tools, on the theory that 
cryptography helped cloak preparations for the deadly events.   

BUT THE DESPONDENCY reflected in the comment can be applied more 
generally. The destruction of the World Trade Center and the attack 
on the Pentagon comes at a delicate time in the evolution of the 
technologies of surveillance and privacy. In the aftermath of 
September 11, 2001, our attitude toward these tools may well take a 
turn that has profound implications for the way individuals are 
monitored and tracked, for decades to come.  

[...]  

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