As representatives of the leading scientific, mathematics, and engineering societies in the United States, we are writing to protest current and proposed U.S. cryptography policies that restrict the open exchange of scientific information and the progress of scientific research and development. We object to national policies that criminalize the use of cryptography that is not approved by the Administration or that mandate domestic key recovery schemes. The leadership that the United States currently enjoys in research and development of encryption algorithms, cryptographic products, and computer security technology will be seriously eroded, if not essentially eliminated, by misguided proposals to restrict the domestic use of encryption. The development of strong cryptographic technology is crucial to the further growth of our electronic infrastructure.
Encryption protects the security and privacy of communications and stored data.
A lack of strong universally available encryption exacerbates security problems on personal computers, intranets, and the world-wide Internet. A recent National Academy of Sciences study warned against the government's premature reliance on key recovery as an encryption technique. It urged that the method be deployed in test situations first to work out problems. This has not been done. Our organizations publish numerous scientific journals and conference proceedings, often relying on the Internet for publication.