🚀 go-pugleaf

In response to the original lead balloon, I suggested that if *all*
circuits were encrypted (in addition to any private encryption), then *all*
wiretapping attempts would have to go to some central registry for session
keys.  This would verify (in a protocol, not by assumed personnel honesty)
the existence of a court order.

It would also leave an audit trail.

By splitting this work up among multiple, mutually-antagonistic political
entities, any attempt to pull a Nixon would result in whistle blowing.

So I proposed this to a lawyer/friend last night and she was horrified.
This audit trail opens up all of these entities for bribery by the Mafia.

So -- I have to back down.  I suggest instead that the entities seeing the
audit trail be entirely within the judiciary (a review panel of judges
overseeing the combined wiretapping orders of all judges).  It would be up
to them to determine if some political entity (or just criminal entity)
within the Executive Branch was misusing the ability to wiretap (eg.,
tapping a large number of NYTimes reporters or tapping members of the
opposing political party).

The audit trail to those judges could be delayed, perhaps, but not long
enough to allow someone to get re-elected if he was tapping his opponent.
The judges would have the power to release portions of the audit trail to
the news media and the target of investigation.


Any more problems with this?  (Again, this is a use of cryptography to
enforce honest in wiretapping, assuming that we're stuck with wiretapping.
This doesn't constitute an admission on my part that wiretapping is a
good thing.)

-- 
-- <<Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are my own, of course.>>
-- Carl Ellison						cme@sw.stratus.com
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