The Limits of Trust: Cryptography, Governments, and Electronic Commerce

From the Publisher: This book, written by a former General Counsel of the National Security Agency and an expert in cryptography law, explores the policy and legal issues raised by the democratization of cryptography. The book traces the history of encryption policy in the United States from its beginnings after World War II down to the recent debates over the Clipper Chip and key recovery encryption. The current state of the law on encryption on export controls in described in detail. Confidentiality is not the only use to which cryptography can be put. Perhaps even more important is authentication - guaranteeing the identity or authority of people operating in a digital world. Digital signatures have also attracted the attention of governments, and regulation is a widespread response. This book describes not only developments in the United States but also developments in more than 20 countries as more and more legislative bodies take action to regulate the use of digital signatures. This book is aimed not just at lawyers but at business executives and technologists hoping to use cryptography as a fundamental building block for electronic commerce. It lays out in clear English the policies that underlie the legal rules in dozens of countries. It is an indispensable guide to anyone who wishes to conduct electronic commerce legally around the globe.