The debate is volatile and the stakes are high. The very principles and foundation on which democracy is built are being shaken. He gained notoriety when he broke the encryption code that was supposed to safeguard the transactional information on Netscape, the number one Web browser software. Criminals smart enough to use encryption will not be foolish enough to use encryption code which the government has master keys to. But Corporate America is concerned.
Digital information held by organizations and corporations are most vulnerable to intrusions.
Businesses want the iron-clad safety for their corporate secrets but are at the same time very weary of government meddling in their security systems. He suggests that an independent, nongovernmental third party hold the master keys. In the meantime, the debate on security versus privacy does not appear to be waning. A solution is hard pressed to satisfy and meet the demands of both sides. The clipper chip is based on an 80-bit encryption algorithm.