Encryption policy — A UK perspective

Tags: 1990s UK

Authors: Hickson, Nigel

Published: January 1997

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167404897807948

Abstract: In 1997, Nigel Hickson, of the Communications and Information Industries Directorate at the UK Government’s Department of Trade and Industry, wrote to provide a business and economics perspective on the ongoing international debates regarding information security and encryption. Hickson emphasized that the Department of Trade and Industry must play a role in the debate by educating end users, producing appropriate guidance and advice standards, and in representing the views of industry in national and international debates on the issue. Hickson argued that international actors needed to reach consensus on minimum standards for Certification Agents, an approach to the legal recognition and digital signatures, and a key management infrastructure to support interoperable key recovery/key escrow products. Hickson closes his paper with a stark warning that “[w]e cannot afford to fail.”