The Clipper Chip Controversy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The limiter ship Chip Controversy - Essay ExampleThe clipper managed toperformthe above task with thehelpof real numerical keys. Controversy sprung from the fact that the US government sought toretainexclusivebut adjust knowledge of such algorithms. That way, the government could eavesdrop on any conversation it consideredsuspect. However, this would only be likely with a nod from the courts. As it happened, from ordinary citizens throughbusinesspeople to senior military personnel, closelyeveryone had an opinion on the issue. On one hand,there were civil libertarians glibly expressing their fear of the technology world usedtoaidabigbrother regime that wouldeasilystifle freedom of speech. On the other, cogent arguments in favor of keeping an eye and ear on the criminalactivitywere made. This newspaper publisher endeavors to present arguments on both sides of the divide all through to the final part of the debacle. The privacy constituency root its opposition to the clipper on th e way itwas envisionedto operate. ... stance if an ordinary citizen happened to stumble upon damaging nurture about the government, it was anactin futility forhim or hertoattempttopassan encrypteddossierto someone in the media. The governments operatives would work relentlessly tointerceptit before some loudmouth spilled the beans if it (the government) knew about the leak. In such situations, no one was willing to tell the truth about anyone because the risk ofbeing caughtwould beunbearable. Similarly, it is quite imaginable that the government would use its backdoor privileges to access information otherwise supposed to beconfidentialabout semipolitical competitors. In short, the charge from this end was that the chances of aregimeturningrogueand harassing people for having unfavorable opinions, argon exceptionally high with the clipper chip. The Clinton Administration countered this line of reasoning with a poignant statement that fill unfortunately, the same encryption techn ology that post help Americans protectbusinesssecrets and personal privacy can also be used by terrorists, drug dealers and other criminals (Lewis 26). Even during those pre-9/11 days, it was easy to work out how a determined and sophisticated terrorist could benefit from access to encryption technology that no man, woman orspiritcan penetrate. Plans to smugglewould-bemurderers, takeflightlessons, hijack airplanes andcrashthem into skyscrapers would be swapped across cyberspace without detection. Although the usefulness of the clipper in matters of defense issomewhatclear, itsinadequacyis even clearer. Thoughtful opponents of the clipper observed no criminals or terrorists smart enough to use asystemto use info encryption would bedumbenough to use