Conference: Scrambling for Safety

Slashdot readers in the UK may be interested in the following conference:

Scrambling for Safety 3.5 - Thursday September 23 1999

The Foundation for Information Policy Research, Privacy International and the LSE Computer Security Research Centre are jointly sponsoring the fourth in the series of public conferences on cryptography policy, e-commerce and Internet surveillance. This will be the second conference of 1999, and has been called in response to the exceptional circumstance of two official DTI consultations in the same year, and the Home Office's recent consultation on revising the Interception of Communications Act to cover the Internet.

Admission is free of charge.

09:15 - 13:30, Thursday 23 September 1999

Old Theatre, Main Building,
London School of Economics,
Houghton St., London WC2
(for directions, check links on the Website)

Registration: Send e-mail to

[e-mail]

with "name, organisation" in body. Telephone enquiries: 0171 354 2333

The connections between Home Office policy on interception and powers proposed in Part.III of the DTI's draft Electronic Communications Bill (closing date for responses 8th October) will be explored, and well as the legal framework for establishing voluntary licensing of cryptography services, and recognition of digital signatures.

Provisional Programme :

09.25 Welcome - Caspar Bowden, FIPR

09:30 Internet Service Providers Association (invited)
Alliance for Electronic Business: Progress towards self-regulation

10:00 "Cryptography, privacy and information warfare"
- Whitfield Diffie

10:30 "Why we needed further consultation"
- Alan Duncan MP, Shadow spokesman on Trade and Industry

11:00 "Cryptography's central role in e-commerce policy"
- Chris Sundt, CBI

11:30 "Law enforcement access to keys - legal and human rights issues"
- Nicholas Bohm (Law Society)

12:00 Keynote: Patricia Hewitt MP #
- Minister of State for E-Commerce at the DTI

12:45 Panel discussion
- Jim Norton (Cabinet Office PIU)

12:00 Keynote: Patricia Hewitt MP #
- Minister of State for E-Commerce at the DTI

12:45 Panel discussion
- Jim Norton (Cabinet Office PIU)
- Stephen Pride (DTI)
- Peter Sommer (Special Adviser to T&I Sel Ctee)
- Clare Wardle (Post Office)
- LIBERTY

13:30 close

For more information, contact:

Caspar Bowden http://www.fipr.org
Director, Foundation for Information Policy Research
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]

Heckling

[elvum]

I don't see an option there for "Heckle against restrictive cryptography regulations". I suppose they dropped key-escrow, but giving the police powers to serve a "gimme yer keys or go to gaol" order doesn't sound much better... :-(

Might acheive something

[chazR]

They've got some good/influential people attending. The UK government has made a bish of it's policy on this, and some powerful groups (Confederation of British Industry etc) have pointed this out in no uncertain terms. The idea of holding someone in contempt of court (and possibly jailing them) because they are unable to prove that they do not have a certain key is ridiculous.

Governments like to control things.

Companies like to make money and not be disturbed while they do it.

Individuals want to get on with their lives in peace and quiet with as much privacy as possible.

The interesting thing is that governments and companies are composed solely of individuals.

I am certain that the needs, if not the desires, of all three groups can be met. All that is needed is for the individuals in government to remember that they are individuals, Companies to accept that they are accountable to the law, and individuals to behave responsibly.

I suspect the chances of all three happening are slim. We'll probably end up with only the criminals prospering fully from the benefits of strong encryption. But I'm a cynic.