Clinton Administration Relaxes Encryption Restrictions

Online Newsletter, Oct, 1999

While some levels of encryption are also available as built-in options for email - Social Security or credit card numbers should never be sent in plaintext. Any transaction over the Internet is not secure unless -both- the user -and- recipient have and use the necessary encryption software at both ends.

While government efforts to regulate and/or control encryption software is understandable for national security purposes, electronic commerce (e-commerce) poses a risky situation for both businesses and individuals alike for conducting safe financial transactions over the Internet as hackers become more adept at cracking codes. [RSH]

Editor's Note: Caveat emptor. ... It was a surprise, during the preparation of this article, by accessing a number of well-known secure Web sites on the Internet, that some of these secure Web sites ("https"), even in the U.S., are using lesser secure 40-bit versions of encryption software for financial transactions. Sites such as amazon.com are using better 128-bit encryption software as well as providing a detailed security statement.