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> Cryptography was once controlled by the state and deployed only for military and diplomatic ends. But in the 1970s, cryptographer Whitfield Diffie devised a s

> Cryptography was once controlled by the state and deployed only for military and diplomatic ends. But in the 1970s, cryptographer Whitfield Diffie devised a system which took encryption keys away from the state and marked the start of the so-called "Crypto Wars". That is an outright lie and the mere fact that this was published as truth shows the BBC is just a propoganda arm of the UK. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copiale_cipher https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copiale_cipher http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/science/25code.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/science/25code.html?_r=0 Hell, we are only just now breaking encryption from the 18th century, ffs. https://www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/vpns/history-encryption-730 https://www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/vpns/history-e... > 1500 BC ancient Assyrian merchants used intaglio, a piece of flat stone carved into a collage of images and some writing to identify themselves in trading transactions. Using this mechanism, they are producing what today we know as 'digital signature.' The public knew that a particular 'signature' belonged to this trader, but only he had the intaglio to produce that signature. Using this mechanism, they are producing what today we know as 'digital signature.' The public knew that a particular 'signature' belonged to this trader, but only he had the intaglio to produce that signature. ------ > So what they said is right, if you specifically know they're talking about public key cryptography and know the history of it. It could have been better written. > Secondly they're trying to dumb down the history of public key cryptography, and what they mean by "once controlled by the state" is that James H. Ellis & Clifford Cocks discovered and implemented it in secret for the GCHQ in 1970-73. With Malcolm J. Williamson implementing the Diffie–Hellman key exchange in 1974. William Stanley Jevons basically foreshadowed its existence in the 1800s. There was no way it could be controlled once computers became common. The fact the GCHQ couldn't keep it secret for even 10 years pretty much shows that. They never had control except for the briefest of windows and pretending that was really control of cryptography in any substantial way is crazy.

Someone1234 11y ago
> That is an outright lie and the mere fact that this was published as truth shows the BBC is just a propoganda arm of the UK. First off there's absolutely no propaganda benefit in that supposed lie. Secondly they're trying to dumb down the history of public key cryptography, and what they mean by "once controlled by the state" is that James H. Ellis & Clifford Cocks discovered and implemented it in secret for the GCHQ in 1970-73. With Malcolm J. Williamson implementing the Diffie–Hellman key exchange in 1974. In 1976 Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman released Diffie–Hellman key exchange to the non-classified world. So what they said is right, if you specifically know they're talking about public key cryptography and know the history of it. It could have been better written.
InclinedPlane 11y ago
Indeed. Encryption (use of ciphers) has always been the topic of open research. Often times the forefront of research was in government, but not always. RSA was an open cryptosystem, Diffie-Hellman was an open cryptosystem, as were blowfish/twofish and other cryptosystems going back decades. And, as you point out, even older cipher schemes have been around for ages. The mathematical theory of one time pads (which have been extensively used by governments and the military) is over a century old and was developed in the open. Openly developed theory of use of ciphers has been around for centuries.

Someone1234 11y ago

> That is an outright lie and the mere fact that this was published as truth shows the BBC is just a propoganda arm of the UK. First off there's absolutely no propaganda benefit in that supposed lie. Secondly they're trying to dumb down the history of public key cryptography, and what they mean by "once controlled by the state" is that James H. Ellis & Clifford Cocks discovered and implemented it in secret for the GCHQ in 1970-73. With Malcolm J. Williamson implementing the Diffie–Hellman key exchange in 1974. In 1976 Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman released Diffie–Hellman key exchange to the non-classified world. So what they said is right, if you specifically know they're talking about public key cryptography and know the history of it. It could have been better written.

InclinedPlane 11y ago

Indeed. Encryption (use of ciphers) has always been the topic of open research. Often times the forefront of research was in government, but not always. RSA was an open cryptosystem, Diffie-Hellman was an open cryptosystem, as were blowfish/twofish and other cryptosystems going back decades. And, as you point out, even older cipher schemes have been around for ages. The mathematical theory of one time pads (which have been extensively used by governments and the military) is over a century old and was developed in the open. Openly developed theory of use of ciphers has been around for centuries.