Bellovin: No wiretaps encountered encryption

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 16:15:55 -0400
From: "Steven M. Bellovin" <smb () cs columbia edu>
To: cryptography () metzdowd com
Subject: wiretaps and encryption
Organization: Columbia University

Those who remember the Crypto Wars of the 1990s will recall all of the
claims about "we won't be able to wiretap because of encryption".  In
that regard, this portion of the latest DoJ wiretap report is
interesting:

        Public Law 106-197 amended 18 U.S.C. 2519(2)(b) to require that
        reporting should reflect the number of wiretap applications
        granted for which encryption was encountered and whether such
        encryption prevented law enforcement officials from obtaining
        the plain text of communications intercepted pursuant to the
        court orders. In 2006, no instances were reported of encryption
        encountered during any federal or state wiretap.

The situation may be different for national security wiretaps, but of
course that's where compliance with any US anti-crypto laws are least
likely.  There was no mention of national security or terrorism-related
wiretaps in the report, possibly because they've all been done with
FISA warrants.

                --Steve Bellovin, http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb

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