Will Have No Effect - Expert. By John Davidson. The controversial Wassenaar Arrangement banning strong cryptography will have little impact on internet privacy and electronic commerce, a leading cryptography expert claims. The Wassenaar Arrangement, backed by 33 governments around the world including the US, Japan, Canada and many European countries, was condemned by computer freedom activists such as Electronic Frontiers Australia and its US sister group, the Electronic Frontiers Foundation. But according to Professor Henry Beker, president of the United Kingdom's Institute of Mathematics and its Applications and chief executive officer of one of the world's largest cryptography suppliers, Baltimore, the arrangement would have little impact because many signatory countries would simply ignore it.
Cryptography is the basis of almost all electronic commerce.
It uses complex mathematics to scramble data so it can be securely transmitted over networks such as the internet, and is also used to electronically sign documents and prove identity on the internet. International human rights groups such as Amnesty International also use cryptography to secure documents reporting on human rights abuses. While signing the Wassenaar Arrangement was foolish, there was a genuine tension between the privacy needs of citizens, and the needs of law enforcement agencies to intercept information, that needed to be resolved, Professor Beker said. Cyber warfare will be a reality. Information warfare is going to be very much the tool of the future.