No Dogs or Philosophers Allowed: Numbers

Mathematics and Computer Education, Spring 2002 by Ashbacher, Charles

NO DOGS OR PHILOSOPHERS ALLOWED: COMPUTER ETHICS A discussion symposium videotape produced by PBS station WNVT on June 20, 1993 $64.95 per show (plus S H), (703)528-5194 http://www.nodogs.org/agora.html Approximately 60 minutes in length

I found the title of this tape misleading, since the focus seems mainly on the social consequences of data encryption. However, that aside, there is little else to fault about the tape. As the panelists so accurately and forcefully describe, a data encryption standard leads to an increase in privacy and freedom rather than the decrease that is often suggested. With such a standard, any data transfer, even a phone conversation, can be private, with only a small number of individuals capable of understanding it. However, those who are a menace to society will also have the privacy they desire to protect their communications from being monitored. The proposed solution is to incorporate a back door decryption protocol into the encryption standard that law enforcement can use under the proper judicial supervision. The panelists express the thought that the technology is simply too useful to avoid being adopted, and that the problem is not with the technology but with the legal controls placed on those with the potential to abuse it. As they point out, the current models for encryption standards incorporate some additional restrictions preventing abuse by law enforcement that are currently not part of our system.

While some of the context of the debate is dated, the topics remain at the forefront of the adoption of new technology. Teachers of computer basics or ethics will find the tape useful as a primer on a force that is inevitable and that will have enormous consequences on how our legal system handles technological advancements.

Reviewed by Charles Ashbacher

http://www.ashbacher.com