The views expressed are solely those of Russell D. Hoffman and Phil Zimmermann and do not necessarily reflect anyone else's point of view. We are pleased to note that this classic interview has now been used in various college courses.
Freedom is hard to define.
Our Declaration of Independence says that we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. One absolute requirement of a free society is freedom of speech. And there can be no free speech in today's electronic world without encryption. Encryption is the process of turning ordinary text communications, or images, into indecipherable gobbledygook, in such a way that it can be turned back into a meaningful message only by the intended recipient. Most of the time he's pretty unobtrusive to the average American, but nevertheless he's there.