RSA CEO Raps Encryption Laws

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January 14, 1998, TechWeb News

RSA CEO Raps Encryption Laws
By Charlotte Dunlap

RSA Data Security CEO Jim Bidzos used the company's eighth annual security conference in San Francisco to rap and bash laws governing encryption.

Appearing with the Sugar Hill Gang, a popular rap group of the late '70s, Bidzos sang out: "I like to surf the Internet turf. I find so much stuff. I can't get enough. I want to encrypt my Internet mail. And I should be able to do it without going to jail." Hundreds in the audience clapped along and laughed.

"I always wanted to do that, but I promise never to do it again," Bidzos said at the end of his act.

Bidzos largely relied on research statistics and politicians to preach his message, talking about the growth potential of encryption technology and the need for new laws which allow for higher levels of encryption code to be shipped overseas. He said the General Accounting Office reported that the Department of Defense was hacked 25,000 times last year, with 65 percent of them successful. He said some say losses from cybercrimes amount to as much as $10 billion annually.

He brought in via satellite Senator John Ashcroft, (D-Mo.) and Rep. Robert Goodlatte, (R-Va.), while Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (R-Calif.) appeared at the conference. "The head in the sand approach some have taken ... has been counterproductive and pulls the rug beneath our competitive advantage," Ashcroft said. "When I get on the Internet and find German companies offering robust encryption and know the U.S. government prohibits U.S. companies from entering that market, it bothers me. Robust encryption is essential to the integrity of the government and business."

Goodlatte, who authored the Security and Freedom Through Encryption (SAFE) bill, which goes before the House of Representatives this spring, said it was vital to the country's security that new legislation be passed. "This SAFE Act legislation is an anticrime measure of the first order, and passing this legislation insures Americans have access to strong encryption so the infrastructure of our country ... is protected from terrorists and hackers," he said. "The bad guys already have access to encryption, and the legislation proposed by those who stand in our way won't keep them from getting access to encryption."

Lofgren has been working with Goodlatte to move the bill toward legislation. "Many politicians live in an analog world. We're in a transition from an analog-based world to a digital world."

RSA announced Tuesday morning it is adding advanced cryptography called elliptic curve to its BSafe 4.0 tool kit. The company will begin trials using the technology, which promises a shorter key length than RSA's current cryptography. Netscape and Microsoft are among the companies that have agreed to participate at the trials.

The RSA Certificate Security Suite architecture, a platform aimed at the enterprise including cryptography, and security policies were also announced at the conference.