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Novell's Chief Software Architect Adds Momentum to Growing Movement for Better Federal Encryption Laws Michael MacKay Testifies Before Senate Judiciary on Need for Market-Driven Key Recovery Systems Washington, D.C. -- July 9, 1997 -- Michael MacKay, vice president corporate architecture for Novell, Inc., today in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee added to the groundswell of U.S. computer industry leaders and consumers urging the Federal government to adopt more competitive and realistic laws governing the export and control of encryption technology. MacKay testified on behalf of Novell and two software-industry trade associations: the Business Software Alliance, and the Software Publishers Association. MacKay, who heads the design of Novell's market-leading networking software used worldwide by more than 55 million people, asked the Committee to reject the administration's current restrictions on cryptography exports and proposed plan to establish a third-party system to store and recover information ("keys") used to decode encrypted messages. "The administration's key recovery scheme will not work," MacKay testified "It entails a massive, worldwide bureaucracy. It is based on technology that does not yet exist. It is in all likelihood prohibitively expensive. It assumes that criminals who do not want to use it will have no other choice. And it may actually increase the vulnerability of law abiding citizens who do use it. Taken together, these conditions spell failure." MacKay's testimony reflects Novell's leadership role in advancing technology for electronic commerce over the Internet. As part of this effort, Novell chairman and CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt is representing the software industry as a lead spokesman on encryption and other electronic commerce issues. Making the Case for Market-Driven Key Recovery MacKay joined a chorus of business leaders and technical experts voicing support for legislation such as: S.376, the Encryption Communications Privacy Act (ECPA); H.R. 695: the Security and Freedom through Encryption Act (SAFE), and S.377, the Promotion of Commerce On-Line in the Digital Era (Pro-CODE) Act. These measures would eliminate most export restrictions on cryptography and leave the creation of key recovery services to private-sector initiatives. According to MacKay, a shift away from export restrictions and government control of key recovery will "place industry on a level international playing field, provide consumers with choice, and strengthen our national security. In order to keep U.S. American jobs at home and American computer users adequately protected, the U.S. government must nurture market-driven key recovery systems and update export controls to reflect technological and international realities," he testified. MacKay emphasized that better encryption laws will benefit consumers and end-user businesses, as well as technology vendors. "People everywhere are demanding the ability to use encryption to protect their electronic information and to interact securely worldwide," he stated. "Fortunately, American companies have exciting and innovative products that can meet this demand and compete internationally. But unless the current unilateral U.S. export restrictions are changed to allow the use of strong encryption, American individuals and businesses will not be active participants in this new networked world of electronic commerce -- let alone continue to be the leaders in its development." Founded in 1983, Novell is the world's leading provider of network software. The company offers a wide range of network solutions for distributed network, Internet/intranet and small-business markets, as well as the network computing industry's most comprehensive education and technical support programs.
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