Cryptography Reference
In-Depth Information
gathering and law enforcement were greatly exaggerated. What govern-
ment control of cryptography would inexorably defeat was “the great
vision of electronic commerce,” “an orgy of buying and selling over the
Internet.” Fortunately for all parties, “the fight for cryptographic freedom
. . . is a fight in which privacy and commerce are on the same side.” 40
In many respects, the crypto debate comfortably fitted with traditional
understandings of science-based innovation in which its scientific, techni-
cal, and social dimensions are understood to operate in largely distinct and
consecutive phases. In contrast, and in the same period, the cryptographic
research community articulated several distinct research programs, pro-
grams defining much more complex relationships between the content of
cryptographic research itself, the physical artifacts it sought to reproduce
in electronic environments, and the social contexts in which such artifacts
would eventually operate.
Cryptographic Research Programs
By the beginning of the 1990s, the cryptography community had seem-
ingly turned on its head a centuries-old relationship with the state, a
relationship that had committed the field to obscurity, secrecy, and national
security. Even better, cryptographers found themselves celebrated as heroes
of the coming Internet's revolution and rode a wave of exciting scientific
innovation unleashed by the public-key paradigm. This profound shift in
their public and professional image was also reflected in a newfound sense
of purpose. As articulated by leaders in the field, the research program for
contemporary cryptography defined areas of investigation vastly larger
than cryptography's historical dedication to the design of tools for confi-
dentiality. I highlight four important research orientations that emerged
during that period: (1) designing the full range of information security
analogues; (2) establishing firm theoretical foundations for the field; (3)
preventing leakage through subliminal channels; (4) and reconciling
authentication and anonymity.
The Science of Information Integrity
In “New Directions,” Diffie and Hellman noted that the coming emer-
gence of data networks would require appropriate substitutes be found
to the paper records required for business intercourse. Unlike previous
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