[Nottingham] nonplussed (digital signing)

[Jason Irwin]

On 21/03/12 16:34, Dan Caseley wrote:
> Doesn't RIPA only cover company mail services?

That's a question that Paul (or possibly someone else) could answer
better than me but AIUI Part Three, Section 49 of RIPA compels you
hand-over crypto keys and/or decrypted files when asked to do so under
penalty of jail (max 2 years).  The UK has jailed mentally-ill people
for their failure to hand-over keys.

It's a more confused in the USA (which has anti-self incrimination on
its statutes) and somewhat bizarrely they can force you to hand-over key
depending exactly how they ask.  I don't even pretend to understand all
the legal ins-and-outs.

Does this solve the problem?  I dunno, but it does fuel the cyrpto
arms-race.

-- 
Jason Irwin