Jewish High Tech Community

How has the debate on the use of crypto shifted since the 1990s, when it was a clash between civil liberties and law enforcement? Today it is an essential part of protecting our economies from bad guys and soon a seismic realignment of government attitudes may appear.

As modern phone systems all migrate to internet telephony the traditional law enforcement asymmetric advantage on wiretapping collapses and unless VoIP includes meaningful encryption, organized crime will be able to wiretap prosecutors and judges! Further, government intercepts of domestic communications has surged in recent years, along with a significant rise in related surveillance capabilities.

What are the public policy implications? What should you understand on this topic heading into the Presidential election season?

About the Speaker

Philip Zimmermann created Pretty Good Privacy, the premier email encryption software. Designed as a human rights tool, PGP was published for free in 1991 and made him the target of a federal criminal investigation for violating export restrictions. Despite the lack of funding, the lack of any paid staff, the lack of a company to stand behind it, and despite government persecution, PGP nonetheless became the most widely used email encryption software in the world.

After the government dropped its case in early 1996, Zimmermann founded PGP Inc., acquired by Network Associates Inc in late 1997. In 2002 PGP was spun out as PGP Corporation, to which he serves as special advisor and consultant. Zimmermann currently consults on matters cryptographic and is a Fellow at the Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society. He was a principal designer of the cryptographic key agreement protocol for the Wireless USB standard. His latest project is Zfone, which provides secure telephony for the Internet.