Congressional statement
The Impact of a Secret Cryptographic Standard
Editorial introduction
Diffie places encryption within everyday social functions: recognising people, signing commitments and speaking privately. Moving those functions into electronic systems makes cryptography a foundation of ordinary life. He challenges a secret standard and government-access mechanism on grounds of civil rights, business security and innovation.
The statement responds to the 1993 Clipper proposal. It also identifies public cryptographic research as a source of progress in digital money, electronic voting and contract negotiation. Its historical technical claims are preserved as arguments of that period, not presented as an assessment of today’s protocols.
A question to take into the text
What happens to private conversation when everyday life becomes electronic?
Source & permissions
Read the source · EFF historical archive · statement to Boucher’s committee ↗
The full work is not mirrored here. The introduction above is 0xNull editorial commentary, not the author’s own words.