What is the current status of the Clipper plan?
On February 4, the Administration announced the formal adoption of the “Escrowed Encryption Standard,” which is the technical specification for the Clipper system. This action means that Clipper will become the encryption standard within the government — all cryptographic products for government use must comply with the standard (i.e., contain the key- escrow mechanism) and all individuals and businesses wishing to transmit secure communications to government agencies will eventually be obliged to use the NSA-developed technology.
