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Zimmermann calls for NAI to free PGP

  • 04-07-2002 12:58pm
    #1
    dahamsta
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,659 ✭✭✭✭


    The Register
    Phil Zimmermann is calling on Network Associates to open source portions of the PGP encryption program he sold to the security giant in 1997. The suggestion from the author of PGP comes as NAI continues to search for a buyer for the popular desktop encryption program, having decided to cease development work on the product as part of its reorganisation last year. NAI has pledged to honour existing contracts, but the lack bug fixes or updates in the pipeline leaves PGP in a state of limbo.


Comments

  • #2
    sceptre
    Registered Users Posts: 19,608 ✭✭✭✭sceptre


    I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that I wouldn't really trust a non-open source version of PGP brought out by NAI without the approval of Zimmerman. Either the guy is trustable or the US government organised one of their better spying moves with all the hassle they caused about the exporting of PGP back along. Either way I'm currently on 7.03 and sticking there regardless.


  • #3
    ego
    Closed Accounts Posts: 21 ✭ego


    What makes you so confident that Zimmerman is "trustable" or trusthworthy? Would you place all your faith in one man? Is Phil Zimmerman the new messiah?

    If you wan't to use an open sourced application that complies with OpenPGP standards, use gnupg.

    Zimmerman has been campaigning for certain parts of NAI's PGP software to be open sourced for years now, this is not a new suggestion based on his leaving.

    Without the source code you can never be sure that any vendor has not inserted a backdoor for their own use or for a governments use. I think if people were that paranoid Microsoft would be out of business and New Zealand would have a population of 5+ billion (Zimmerman wanted to move there as it was the most likely place to survive a nuclear war between the US and the USSR).

    Curious: If you/others are not going to use further versions of NAI PGP based on a lack of trust, what about running other third party products that offer similar services, e.g. IPSec implementations in Cisco, Microsoft, etc. Surely they carry the same risk as being potential targets for espionage focal points for the US government?


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