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Did Encryption Empower These Terrorists?

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

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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