Computing Reviews
Today's Issue Hot Topics Search Browse Recommended My Account Log In
Review Help
Search
Cryptography policy
Hoffman L., Ali F., Heckler S., Huybrechts A. Communications of the ACM37 (9):109-117,1994.Type:Article
Date Reviewed: Feb 1 1996

The security of information is a real problem. To solve it, specialists are developing different techniques to protect data. One of them is encryption. Encryption is just beginning to emerge as a significant part of the computer security market.

This paper analyzes trends in encryption technology and policy against this backdrop. It is divided into four main sections: technology, market analysis, export controls, and public policy issues.

The first section, as usual, explains the terminology and presents the current trends and the main encryption products and algorithms (DES, RSA, PGP, PEM, and Skipjack). The conclusion of this section is that the current trends in encryption technology include increasing use of public and private key cryptography, and the continued development of increasingly secure algorithms. These trends all coincide with the skyrocketing use of the Internet and other types of electronic communications.

The market for encryption products is rapidly growing along with the increasing use of personal computers, fax machines, and email. Some aspects of its evolution are treated in the section dedicated to market analysis. The information is based on International Resource Development and Software Publishers Association Foreign Availability studies.

The research shows that, given the increased use of computers and networks, a steady growth in the market for encryption products is likely, as is a continued expansion into this market by manufacturers outside the US.

Existing controls on the export of encryption software and hardware have been a topic of concern for US manufacturers and vendors. These issues are considered in the third section of this paper. The authors say the NSA will continue to play a dominant role in the debate over cryptography in the US, and will continue to have much more influence than the NIST on encryption policy. NSA will continue to strongly voice its opinions to the president and pressure him to keep Data Encryption Standard–based encryption on the munitions list.

There are also a lot of problems concerning public policy. The trends in this direction, the position of Congress, and some potential scenarios resulting from the policy debate are tackled in detail.

This paper offers an interesting overview of the security issue, and is easy for everyone to understand. A rich bibliography (23 titles) enables the reader to find other information concerning this subject.

Reviewer:  Mihaela Cärstea Review #: CR118760 (9602-0131)
Bookmark and Share
 
Data Encryption Standard (DES) (E.3 ... )
 
 
Security and Protection (D.4.6 )
 
Would you recommend this review?
yes
no
Other reviews under "Data Encryption Standard (DES)": Date
Cycle structure of the DES for keys having palindromic (or antipalindromic) sequences of round keys
Moore J., Simmons G. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering SE-13(2): 262-273, 1987. Type: Article
Feb 1 1988
Processing encrypted data
Ahituv N., Lapid Y., Neumann S. Communications of the ACM 30(9): 777-780, 1987. Type: Article
Dec 1 1988
A randomized protocol for signing contracts
Even S., Goldreich O., Lempel A. Communications of the ACM 28(6): 637-647, 1985. Type: Article
Dec 1 1985
more...

E-Mail This Printer-Friendly
Send Your Comments
Contact Us
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.   Copyright 1999-2024 ThinkLoud®
Terms of Use
| Privacy Policy