🚀 go-pugleaf

This has probably been covered in this long many threaded discussion
but assume for a moment that a suspected perpetrator is communicating
using strong cryptography on a public carrier, phone line for the
example.  Regradless of whether it is legal or illegal to do so an
interesting side effect is that any attempt to prove its use forces LE
to admit using a wiretap and thus it is incumbent on them to secure
what the courts consider proper permission to do so.  Thus at least the
days of illegal prophylactic wire taps will be over when such devices
are available either legally or illegally.  Anyone who thinks this is
not being done at will during investigations is very naive.  The proper
permissions are only obtained when the wire tap data is to be used as
evidence.  Illicit tapping usually renders it unnecessasary to ever
use the taps as evidence because they lead LE to harder evidence.

Another problem with making it illegal is that convicting a suspect of
using it may incur a penalty but it serves as a door bell to the suspect
that he is under surveilence and will make it a lot less likely that he
will be caught doing whatever he is suspected of doing.  Thus I doubt
LE will press charges just on the basis of using illegal crypto unless
the penalties are very stiff indeed.  Just being an additional charge
will be little deterence to a perpetrator.

It is so easy to make such a device today that if it becomes criminal to
have and use such a device, only the criminals will have them and have
them they will.  The criminal realizes full well that if he is being
tapped, he is under surveilance and in deep shit to begin with so he
has little more to lose by encrypting his communication and probably
considerable to gain.

While I can see the concern of LE and think there are some very valid
considerations, it is a no win situation for them already.  Selling
these devices would become just another high profit criminal activity.
Every drug dealer, drug user, mafiosi, spy, revolutionary, etc. will
have one eventually.

Bob
-- 
Bob Cain    rcain@netcom.com   408-358-2007

"There are some strings.  They're just not attached."
                                                    Victoria Roberts


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