fred avolio's musings

slashdot points to this Computerworld story that says, “A Minnesota appeals court has ruled that the presence of encryption software on a computer may be viewed as evidence of criminal intent.”

Maybe we have no one to blame but ourselves. Encryption software on a PC should be as commonplace as AV software. The technology has been around, and “products” available for almost 20 years. But, it is still rare enough that a jury can be convinced that only criminals have something to hide. I’ve no sympathy at all for people who prey on children. (See A Really Ugly Side of the Internet.) But, when will crypto be ubiquitous?

For some background on the availability and use of crypto on computers, see:

• From arms violations to gathering dust: The strange history of PGP
• PGP Corporate milestones
• PGP Timeline