Key Escrow Abandonment: Government Control Over Encryption Issues

As concern grows over the vulnerability of government and industry organizations, a familiar and controversial battle has been revisited on Capitol Hill: the question of whether government should have control of encrypted messages. "Key escrow" -- a system whereby digital keys . . .

As concern grows over the vulnerability of government and industry organizations, a familiar and controversial battle has been revisited on Capitol Hill: the question of whether government should have control of encrypted messages. "Key escrow" -- a system whereby digital keys are generated and copies are acknowledged with a third party that keeps them in escrow until recovered -- was bandied about in the aftermath of the September 11 bombings. The attackers are suspected of having used encryption during their preparations.

A spokesman for Sen. Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire, has announced that the Senator has abandoned his stance in pushing legislation that would give law enforcement entities a "master key," granting full backdoor access to all encryption products made in the United States.

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