The strength of the encryption, or how easy it is to crack, depends on the robustness of the algorithm used and on the length of the string of characters used in the key, measured in bits. As it is, encryption techniques are widely used by governments around the world to protect military se- crets, by private companies to protect confidential information, and by financial institutions as they exchange payment and other sensitive data. Encryption has its limits, however. In the right hands, it is a powerful tool for protecting the confidentiality of information and preventing it from being misused or stolen. The tensions over encryption policy have led to a major policy dispute between the Clinton adminis- 1.
Encryption is limited in other respects as well.
In addition, even the strongest encryption in the world is of little value if hackers can find ways to subvert a user's operating system before he or she even sends an encrypted message. At the very least, the skeptics might suggest that continued suspicions among the public about security will deter use of the Internet for business purposes. DES is widely used by financial in- stitutions and other companies to protect their sensitive information. This event, skeptics argue, demonstrates the fragil- ity of security not only over the Internet but in electronic media generally.3 2. OCR for page 47 Digital Skeptics and Pessimists 47 to food.