[barbs]

> The feds used to fight civilian crypto tooth and nail.

Curious. I'd like to read about this. Can anyone post any links?

[IvyMike]

Read up on the Clipper chip: A chip which sort of being promoted to be the "official" way to do crypto in the US. Specifically designed to be decryptable by the NSA via "key escrow".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper_chip

It died when Matt Blaze figured out a way to trick the clipper chip doing encryption that the NSA could NOT decrypt.

[rozap]

" Then-Senators John Ashcroft and John Kerry were opponents of the Clipper chip proposal, arguing in favor of the individual's right to encrypt messages and export encryption software."

Wow. What happened?

[Zelphyr]

Just do a search for Phil Zimmermann and what they did to him in the 90's for having the audacity to create PGP.

[wlesieutre]

http://www.loundy.com/Roadside_T-Shirt.html is one example, there are probably others. It ended up going in a sane direction, but it's a bit crazy to imagine in hindsight.

[IvyMike]

More illegal crypto T-Shirts: http://www.cypherspace.org/adam/uk-shirt.html

This was one of my favorite shirts, but it finally gave up the ghost a few years ago.

[pyre]

Many developers that worked on crypto would cross the border into Canada to meet up and work on crypto to get around the export restrictions (crypto software was classified as a weapon; exporting it could get you the same punishment as exporting a missile).

[hvs]

Read "Crypto: how the code rebels beat the government, saving privacy in the digital age" by Steven Levy. He outlines the whole story of public crypto until about 2000. Good read, too.