Date: Tue, 30 Mar 93 08:53 EST
From: "Michael E. Marotta" <MERCURY@LCC.EDU>
Subject: File 8--Comments on SJG Decision (GRID News)

    GRID News.                                         March 30,
1993.
    ISSN 1054-9315.                                        vol 4 nu
2.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    (74 lines)  Reflections of an Author and Publisher
                on Judge Sam Sparks' Decision
                by Michael E. Marotta mercury@well.sf.ca.us

    Grid News was launched in 1989.  While Jolnet and PHRACK were
    being busted, I was a participant in the White House Conference
on
    Library and Information Services.  As a result of that bust, I
    applied for and received the ISSN designator from the Library
of
    Congress.  I wanted it perfectly clear that Grid News is a
    publication.  (After its first volume, I obtained an ISSN for
    HERMES, a cybercast periodical for economic topics.)

    What disturbs me about Judge Sparks's ruling are these words:

        In any event, the Court declines to find from a
        preponderance of the evidence that on March 1, 1990,
        Agent Foley or any other employee or agent of the United
        States had reason to believe that property seized would
        be the work product materials of a person believed to
        have a purpose to disseminate to the public a newspaper,
        book, broadcast or other similar form of public
        communication.

    Foley and Kluepfel were recognized by the court to be experts
in
    computers.  Yet, the court did not expect them to recognize a
BBS
    as a "form of public communication."  This is disturbing. 
Earlier
    this week, I received a file from Bitnic about the
"Clinton-Gore
    Initiative."  That we can link everyone in America to the same
    fiberoptic network and not have "public communication" is
beyond
    reason.

    I wrote a book about codes and ciphers (available from
Loompanics,
    P. O. Box 1197, Port Townsend, WA 98368. $13.95 w/s&h).  This
    week, I have the proceedings from Crypto 85 and Crypto 86 and
I
    enjoyed reading Adleman's attack on Shamir's quadratics. 
However,
    these guys should be warned that merely attempting to break
    someone else's cipher is suspect in the eyes of the law.

    Judge Sparks said: "Kluepfel had legitimate concerns, both
about
    the 911 document stolen from Bell South and the possibility of
a
    decryption system which could utilize passwords in rapid
fashion
    and could result in intrusions of computer systems, including
those
    of the Bell System."  And later, he ruled:  "If the Secret
Service,
    in the performance of executing Court order, had only obtained
and
    taken the 911 document or alleged decryption materials,
    application of the definitions of "documentary materials" and
    "work product materials" would logically result in no violation
of
    the statute under the circumstances of this case."

    It seems that merely attempting decryption can make you the
target
    of a Secret Service bust.  Someone better warn the SETI folks
and
    maybe Dr. Lilly ... (:-)

    The darkest shadow is cast by these words from the conclusion
of
    the ruling: "It may well be, as the Government Defendants
contend,
    these statutes relied upon by the Plaintiffs should not apply
to
    the facts of this case, as these holdings may result in the
    government having great difficulties in obtaining information
or
    computer documents representing illegal activities. But this
Court
    cannot amend or rewrite the statutes involved. The Secret
Service
    must go to the Congress for relief. Until that time, this Court
    recommends better education, investigation and strict
compliance
    with the statutes as written."

    I suggest that the Secret Service and the telcos will in fact
    devote their resources to lobbying Congress for tougher laws
and
    will not spend much effort on education within their ranks.
    Caveat computor.

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