From: jim@rand.org (Jim Gillogly)
Subject: Secret algorithm [Re: Clipper Chip and crypto key-escrow]
Keywords: encryption, wiretap, clipper, key-escrow, Mykotronx
Organization: Banzai Institute
Lines: 19
Nntp-Posting-Host: mycroft.rand.org

May as well look at one piece of this at a time.  This paragraph:

>To demonstrate the effectiveness of this new technology, the
>Attorney General will soon purchase several thousand of the new
>devices.  In addition, respected experts from outside the
>government will be offered access to the confidential details of
>the algorithm to assess its capabilities and publicly report
>their findings.

means they aren't planning to make it public, as was done with DES.  As it
says in both sci.crypt FAQs, there's no way we are going to achieve the
same level of comfort with Clipper that we finally have with DES if we
can't actually get our hands on the bits and watch them flow around.  Even
the best experts aren't going to think of everything: look how long it
took Biham and Shamir to get a handle on just how good DES is... and for
all we know there's still more to learn.
-- 
	Jim Gillogly
	Trewesday, 25 Astron S.R. 1993, 17:10
