lynx-dev UK opens up to encryption

[Philip Webb]

Financial Times (London) 990526

ENCRYPTION: Blair urges technology co-operation
 -- David Wighton, Political Correspondent

The UK government will today admit it can do little to prevent advanced
encryption technology hampering police efforts to combat crime by intercepting
electronic communications; PM Tony Blair will announce the government
is dropping plans to force companies to entrust third parties with keys
to encryption software they use to protect electronic messages & will tell
a meeting of IT industry leaders the scheme would be ineffective
and hamper development of e-commerce; instead, he will unveil a package
of measures to improve co-operation between e-commerce software companies
and the police and security services.

A report by the Cabinet Office Performance & Innovation Unit will concede
encryption will make intercepting communications between criminals
more difficult.  For the first time, the government will publish figures
showing how effective such interception can be in combating crime:
the report will disclose  50 %  interceptions provide useful information
& 1996-7 led directly to  1200  arrests & seizure of  UKP 600 M  drugs
&  450  firearms.  The effectiveness of interception has made the police
and Home Office very concerned about encryption & they strongly backed
proposals first put forward by the Conservative government for key escrow,
but the Department of Trade and Industry, responsible for the forthcoming
e-commerce bill, became convinced the scheme would be an unnecessary
and ineffective burden on business.

9903 Blair asked the PIU to work with business to come up with an alternative
& it set up a group incl representatives from Whitehall & security services
& secondees from British Telecommunications & IBM, whose report recommends
formation of an industry-government forum to encourage software companies
to consider needs of security services when developing encryption products
"to avoid making them unnecessarily unhelpful not to do anything
that was not commercial" [!].  It recommends industry set up a  24 hr
advice service to assist police in decrypting communications & calls
for increased dialogue with other countries, most of which are now taking
a similar approach to the issue.
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