The Limits of Trust: Cryptography, Governments, and Electronic Commerce (Hardcover)

by David Stewart (Author), Paul R. Hurst (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
For the first time in history, everyone -- third World freedom fighters to urban drug dealers -- can communicate in secrecy via unbreakable codes made available by advances in cryptography and computer technology. As the welcome and unwelcome consequences of this new technology begin to dawn on governments worldwide, responses have varied from stringent regulation to laissez fare liberalism. Written by a former General Counsel of the National Security Agency and an expert in cryptography law, The Limits of Trust: Cryptography, Governments & Electronic Commerce explores the policy and legal issues raised by the democratization of cryptography and offers a guide to the ways in which the law of cryptography translates issues of trust into standards for lawful conduct. This book addresses the international regulation of cryptography and digital signatures both in terms of confidentiality (cryptography used to keep secrets) and authentication (cryptography used to verify information). Coverage includes + a description of over 45 countries' policies and laws on cryptography import, export, and domestic controls and digital signature initiatives worldwide; + a concise history of the cryptography debate in the United States from its beginnings after World War II to the recent debates over the Clipper Chip and key recovery encryption; + a presentation of the efforts of the United States government (and others) to build a new national consensus on regulation of encryption; + a description of existing export control agreements and more recent efforts to make encryption systems accessible to the police; + an introduction to the issues pertaining to cryptography policy, including a discussion of the ways in which international forums -- such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls -- have addressed such policy; + a discussion of the importance of cryptography to facilitate electronic commerce with authentication technologies, such as electronic and digital signatures; and + an overview of issues that need to be addressed in developing a digital infrastructure and of the obstacles to electronic commerce imposed by recent digital signature initiatives. The Limits of Trust contains several useful features: + country- by-country summaries of cryptography and digital signature policies; + expert essays from various countries, providing a narrative perspective of the cryptography regime; and + an appendix offering translated and untranslated text of many relevant laws. The Limits of Trust is the first book to describe in detail the responses of governments around the world to the consequences of widespread encryption. This work provides the practical information necessary for lawyers, businesspeople, technologists, and anyone wishing to conduct electronic commerce legally around the globe to quickly evaluate the applicable legal regime to ensure their compliance and to assess whether legal assistance is needed. The Limits of Trust can thereby allow companies to save the expense and interruption of business that may arise from failure to comply with international laws. At the same time, its balanced information on policy, theory, and historical context make The Limits of Trust an important resource for policymakers and academics.

From the Inside Flap
For the first time in history, everyone -- from Third World freedom fighters to urban drug dealers -- can communicate in secrecy using unbreakable codes made available by advances in cryptography and computer technology. As the welcome and unwelcome consequences of this new technology have begun to dawn on governments worldwide, their responses have ranged from stringent regulation to laissez fare liberalism. Written by a former General Counsel of the National Security Agency and an expert in cryptography law, this book explores the policy and legal issues raised by the democratization of cryptography. It then traces how issues of trust translate into a wide variety of legal regimes.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 600 pages
• Publisher: Kluwer Law International; 1 edition (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9041106359
• ISBN-13: 978-9041106353
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,958,819 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad in retrospect, September 20, 2001

By A Customer

While reading through other reviews of this book I noticed not only that they were negative as a whole but also that they were all written prior to the (WTC and Pentagon among suspected others) terrorist attacks in the US on 9/11/2001.

In light of the fact that we can see much more clearly now how "ultimate" privacy can be a "not so perfect" thing, and how complete privacy may actually hinder our own safety and security, I imagine this book and the ones to follow will get more balanced reviews.

I also imagine that this book and other works by this author or those with similar backgrounds and views might aid or even guide the many people and organizations that will have to now deal with the true issues of "privacy" in this electronic age.

I thought the author was in his element, though an under appreciated element at the time. Looking at the book again, I certainly still recall my own feeling that this author was on a different side of the proverbial fence than I have ever been. However, his insight is invaluable and in retrospect, even somewhat balanced, and the issues he brings to light are pertinent.

The evolution of thoughts, facts, and opinions similar to the ones found in this book will (imo) be a driving force behind the development of an acceptable solution to the strained relationship between privacy and security which we have all been feeling in one way or another. Not bad in retrospect...

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ludicrous, June 15, 2000

By A Customer

I saw this book at a local bookstore and picked it up, hoping to find an impartial look at cryptography in the new global marketplace. What I found instead was a somewhat Orwellian perspective on information control seasoned with a generous amount of hubris. Baker envisions a future where the plutocrats conduct their business in utmost security, where only those with worthy causes are allowed access to strong cryptography. The first question that comes to my mind is: who will determine which individuals and corporations have "worthy" causes? The government? Lawyers, perhaps? Baker seems much more concerned with the money such a system would put in his pocket than with personal privacy, and it shows.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Good old-fashioned lesson in information control!, April 21, 2000

By	bewildered computer user (Northeast US) - See all my reviews

Shame, shame on our Mr. Baker, trying to explain to us the reasons why limiting privacy to those who have "worthy" causes should be the only ones with the means to keep secrets secret. It looks like the bureaucratic "bull" can't keep up with the rest of us. People are fed the notion that "hackers" are individuals who like to promote choas. NOT SO, I SAY! We just like figuring things out. Anyone who reads this, please go and talk to that computer nerd next door, or the geek who works with you.... You'll see, we don't like people who break the law either. BUT THIS! Geeze.........