Lin Franck. Cryptography’s Past, Present, and Future Role in Society

Publisher info not specified. — 2010. — 25 p.The Individual and Authority (defined as civil government, military, and corporations) have always had a complex relationship with cryptography. Craving digital privacy, individuals highly value the effectiveness and transparency of the algorithms protecting personal and financial secrets. On the other hand, governments want to intercept criminal communication, the military wants to maintain a proven military asset, and corporations, especially those that sell media, want to safeguard their multibillion-dollar markets. These later desires often run counter to the privacy-rights of the individuals. After establishing basic technical literacy, I will argue that the future advent on quantum cryptology, based on the fantastic yet proven field of quantum mechanics, represents a revolution in our information society. I will show that the past 50 years of digital cryptography has been characterized by a constant “tug-of-war” between the individual and authority. Quantum cryptology will end this decade-long struggle and also define who will finally win what cryptographic rights. However, the result of quantum cryptography is largely dependent on what precedents we establish in this generation. Lastly, I will attempt to make educated predictions on how our individual privacy rights will be affected by this technology.Executive Summary
Introduction
Part One: Technological Background
Symmetric Key Encryption
Examples of Symmetric Key
Asymmetric (Public) Key Encryption
One-way functions
RSA
Digital Signatures and Hashing
Limitations of Public Key Cryptography
Quantum Key Distribution
Theory
Cipher Details
Feasibility
Conclusion of Technical Overview
Part Two: The Digital Age and Cryptography
Overview of Privacy Laws
Judicial Precedent
The 4th Amendment and Cryptography
Government and Cryptography
Key Disclosure
Key Escrow
Cryptography as a Military Asset
Export Restrictions
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Society’s Quantum Leap
Conclusion
Works Cited
Appendix
RSA (Asymmetric/Public Key Cipher)
B92 (Quantum Key Distribution using Polarized Light)