Freeh Seeks Encryption Decoding Key

FBI Chief at Odds With Software Industry

By Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 4, 1997; Page E01
The Washington Post 


FBI Director Louis Freeh told a Senate subcommittee yesterday that
data-scrambling software sold in the United States should be required to
have a feature that would allow law enforcement agencies to decode many
scrambled messages.

Under Freeh's plan, the decoding technology would have to be built into
the software, but savvy computer users could legally deactivate the
technology, allowing them to transmit data that would be inaccessible to
authorities. Authorities, however, assume that most messages would be
sent in the crackable form.

Freeh's comments reflect a new, more forceful stance on the use of
encryption technology within the United States. His position is contrary
to statements by President Clinton and Vice President Gore earlier this
year that the Clinton administration would stay with a long-standing
policy of imposing no rules on sales of any such products in the United
States. Exports of the products are regulated, however.

A White House official said last night that "the administration has not
formally endorsed" Freeh's position. His comments, however, drew strong
criticism from the software industry, which called the proposal costly
and unworkable.

At a hearing of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on technology,
terrorism and government information, Freeh also called for regulations
that would require online service providers to set their networks so
that law enforcement authorities could easily intercept communications.

Privacy advocates contend that the United States should have no rules
restricting encryption software. The technology is the only way people
will be able to assure confidentiality of personal information in the
electronic age, they contend.

Freeh said that legislation being considered by the Senate should
"require the manufacturers of encryption products and services -- those
which will be used in the United States or imported into the United
States for use -- include a feature which would allow for the immediate,
lawful decryption of the communications or the electronic information
once that information is found by a judge to be in furtherance of a
criminal activity or a national security matter." Freeh made his
comments in response to a question posed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein
(D-Calif.).

Feinstein questioned whether Freeh's approach, which would allow the
code-breaking technology to be turned off, would amount to a "a massive
loophole that everyone would take advantage of." But Freeh called his
proposal "a step forward" that would improve the odds of authorities
accessing coded messages.

Freeh told the committee he would favor requiring people who send
encrypted messages to use technology that would allow the communications
to be unscrambled, saying it "would be the best law enforcement
solution." He conceded, however, that such a rule would be impossible to
enact because of opposition from industry groups and many in Congress.

Freeh's stance prompted complaints from the software industry.

"The impact is going to be clear," said Lauren Hall, an official with
the Software Publishers Association, a Washington-based trade group.
"It's going to be very expensive, and it's going to raise the price of
software. Adding these features are not as simple as flipping a switch."

Becca Gould, the vice president for public policy at the Business
Software Alliance, another industry group in Washington, called the
director's statement "horrible." 


"It's basically saying the government should have a back-door key to all
private citizens' records," Gould said.

Gould added that adding such a feature to all software that uses
encryption technology would not be feasible. "It would be awfully
complex," she said.

The software industry has long complained about the government's export
restrictions, which require firms exporting high-powered encryption
products to put aside electronic "keys" that intelligence agencies could
use to descramble data. The industry says this puts U.S. firms at a
disadvantage in competition with foreign companies that have no such
controls. Administration officials say the ability to unscramble files
is a necessary tool in the fight against terrorism and other crimes.

The subcommittee is considering a bill introduced by Sens. John F. Kerry
(D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) that would loosen export 

restrictions on encryption software but provide incentives to have
companies make the decoding keys available to law enforcement. The
administration supports the legislation but it is opposed by much of the
software industry. 


Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company