My feet have detached themselves and left the building. The floors at the RSA 2007 are really hard on your feet. I have certainly hit my max on free tshirts and pens etc. A little helpful hint for vendors. Do not use iPods as giveaways anymore. I have too many already.
Today was a great day on another note. I had the great privilege to shake hands with Phil Zimmermann. Myrcurial looked him in the eye and said “thank you for all of the work that you have done”. Phil was visibly caught off guard and took a moment to collect his thoughts. He smiled and found his stride as he asked us if we were familiar with his current project. Personable to a fault. Great guy. For those who don’t about Phil know check out his site.
He was one of the first to make asymmetric, or public key, encryption software readily available to the general public. He released the source code to PGP, and shortly thereafter, it became available overseas via the Internet, though Zimmermann has said he had no part in its distribution outside the US. After a report from RSADSI (RSA Data Security, Inc.), who were in a licensing dispute with regard to use of the RSA algorithm in PGP, the Customs Service started a criminal investigation of Zimmermann, for allegedly violating the Arms Export Control Act. The US Government has long regarded cryptographic software as a munition, and thus subject to arms trafficking export controls. At that time, the boundary between permitted (“low strength”) cryptography and impermissible (“high strength”) cryptography placed PGP well on the too strong to export side (this boundary has since been relaxed). The investigation lasted three years, but was finally dropped without filing charges.
He has gone to jail so that we the people can have encryption software. Be sure to show your appreciation.
[tags]RSA 2007, ipod giveaways, Phil Zimmermann[/tags]
