[FYI] (Fwd) Freeh says DoS attacks require FBI access to plaintext

["Axel H Horns" <horns@t-online.de>]

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent:      	Wed, 16 Feb 2000 18:01:36 -0500
To:             	cryptography@c2.net
From:           	Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject:        	Freeh says DoS attacks require FBI access to plaintext
Copies to:      	cypherpunks@cyberpass.net



http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,34388,00.html

                        Everything Hacked but the Budget
                        by Declan McCullagh (declan@wired.com)

                        1:15 p.m. 16.Feb.2000 PST
                        Justice Department and FBI officials
                        Wednesday told a Senate panel that last
                        week's denial of service attacks provide
                        ample reason to give law enforcement
                        bigger budgets and additional powers.

                        [...]

                        Repeating a long-standing theme, he said
                        data-scrambling encryption products
                        posed a real danger to police, who
                        needed access to descrambled
                        documents or communications.

                        During previous appearances on Capitol
                        Hill, Freeh has warned of drug smugglers,
                        child pornographers, spies, and terrorists
                        cloaking their communications with impunity.

                        Now he said hackers, such as the ones
                        responsible for the denial of service
                        attacks, could encrypt their files and
                        make the evidence "all but worthless to
                        us."

                        "Without the ability of law enforcement to get
                        court-ordered access to plaintext, we're going
                        to be out of business," Freeh said. "If it is
                        unaddressed, we're not going to [be able to]
                        work in many of these areas."

                        He said that the FBI is finding more and
                        more cases -- including 53 last year -- in
                        which suspects are using encryption products
                        like PGP to shield their files.

                        [...snip...]


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