The Cyberspace Electronic Security Act of 1999 (CESA) is a bill proposed by the
Clinton administration during the
106th United States Congress that enables the government to harvest keys used in
encryption
In Cryptography law, cryptography, encryption (more specifically, Code, encoding) is the process of transforming information in a way that, ideally, only authorized parties can decode. This process converts the original representation of the inf ...
. The Cyberspace Electronic Security Act gives
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...
the ability to gain access to
encryption keys and
cryptography
Cryptography, or cryptology (from "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logy, -logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of Adversary (cryptography), ...
methods. The initial version of this act enabled federal law enforcement agencies to secretly use monitoring, electronic capturing equipment and other technologies to access and obtain information. These provisions were later stricken from the act, although federal law enforcement agencies still have a significant degree of latitude to conduct investigations relating to electronic information. The act generated discussion about what capabilities should be allowed to law enforcement in the detection of criminal activity. After vocal objections from civil liberties groups, the administration backed away from the controversial bill.
See also
*
Computer security
Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and computer network, n ...
External links
The bill at CDT.com
United States federal commerce legislation
Encryption debate
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