Encryption bill introduced

Rep. George Brown (D-CA), chair of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, introduced a bill October 6 authorizing federal development of escrow encryption standards such as the Clipper chip, already implemented by the Clinton administration.

The Encryption Standards and Procedures Act of 1994 sought to govern the development and use of key-escrowed encryption technology for unclassified information. Brown said he introduced the bill in the final days of the 103rd Congress to send a signal that he is serious about pursuing similar legislation at the start of this year's 104th Congress.

The encryption legislation would authorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop and issue federal encryption standards for both the government and private sectors, impose new legal requirements on key-escrow agents, establish an R&D program at NIST and authorize appropriations.

Although the Computer Security Act, which the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology reviewed in 1987 before passage, already authorizes NIST to issue standards for protecting unclassified information in federal computer systems, it does not explicitly authorize issuance of standards for private communications and for ensuring access to decryption keys by the law enforcement and intelligence communities.

The Clinton administration has said it wants to retain flexibility in modifying its encryption policy and Clipper program in response to changing circumstances and does not seek legislation authorizing Clipper or any other key escrow standards.

However, the administration's desire for flexibility "contributes to the public's mistrust and opposition to Clipper," Brown said. "For this reason alone, the public is unlikely to ever accept Clipper chip in its present form."

In September, the Office of Technology Assessment issued the report, Information Security and Privacy in Network Environments, which recommended congressional involvement as a way of making the process more accountable to various public sectors.