[err4nt]

It takes what it has always taken: good police work.

Encryption is like envelopes for the mail. They can be broken into with enough force, but their purpose it to shield the contents of the message from those handling it in transit. A post card offers no such protection.

So suppose the banned encryption (envelopes). Im sure the government would still reauire envelopes. As would anybody dealing with health records. Or banking, financial stuff has a legitimate need for secrecy. So they ned envelopes.

Pretty soon what you have is a class of people allowed to USE envelopes and a class of people not allowed it use them.

Like envelopes, encryption is an idea, not an inplementation. They may block you from using this tool or that tool, just like a government could make selling pre-made envelopes illegal - but the IDEA of encryption is simple just like the idea of an envelope. Anybody with paper, scissors, and glue can fashion their own envelope. Encyption is the same, one person can dream up an build their own encoder and you can never ban or prevent that idea from being used.

[pdkl95]

https://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/essays/WhyIWrotePGP.html

"Why I Wrote PGP", by Philip Zimmermann

We really need to emphasize the envelope metaphor a lot more. It's much easier for non-technical propel to understand than any discussion of key/signing/etc.

[ctb_mg]

Good insight, I wonder how many nefarious plots were thwarted by surveillance rather than old-fashioned police work.