Developer of Crypto Interrogated: Asked for algorithms by US Customs
9 June 2012 – The United States government, specifically the National Security Agency (NSA) and other intelligence-gathering organizations, has long had a fascination with cryptography as it applies to common communication between citizens. Not only does this hold true where it involves foreign-born individuals, but also native-born.
Recently Nadim Kobeissi of Montreal, the developer of a new encrypted communication service called Crypto (www.Crypto.com), was detained by U.S. Customs agents at the U.S. border and interrogated about the algorithms employed in his online creation.
According to a news report by NakedSecurity, an online news publication, “Out of my 4 DHS interrogations in the past 3 weeks, it’s the first time I’m asked about Cryptocat crypto and my passport is confiscated.”
Those old enough to recall, NSA attempted to assure a backdoor into every domestic communication back in the early portion of the Clinton regime by way of a device called the “Clipper Chip.” The Clipper, as it was commonly referred to, provided authorities with a ready means of decryption. In a digitized world, it was obvious to the US government that something had to be done in order to assure ready access.
Another ploy used by the US government was to limit the degree of encryption that could be performed within our borders. The limit set was 256 bits, compared to more than 1,200 bit encryption codes used in other countries at the time. Clearly, our intelligence services sought to assure access in any way possible.
Read for yourself the intersting tale of Crypto’s developer.
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