Privacy Guru Locks Down VOIP
<<<... The export laws were relaxed in 2000, so at least they're no longer a problem.
"There's a lot more crypto in the computer industry now than there was in the '90s," Zimmermann said. "And there's not much authorities can do about it now because we went through this struggle with them in the '90s and we won."
Zimmermann isn't taking chances, however.
He worked closely with a law firm that specializes in export controls and filed the required paperwork with the Commerce Department notifying the government that his product exists. Still, he delayed producing VOIP encryption after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, because the climate wasn't right. "I was concerned that maybe this would attract some criticism," Zimmermann said.
"I just felt that maybe the government had their hands full with enough problems, and I also needed to concentrate on other consulting projects to make money." Zimmermann received hate mail after 9/11 from people who accused him of aiding the attackers by creating a program that allowed terrorists and criminals to shield their correspondence from authorities.
The Washington Post erroneously reported shortly after the attacks that Zimmermann was overwhelmed with guilt over the possibility that terrorists might have used PGP to plan their attacks. What he actually said was that he was sorry if al-Qaida used the program, but that this was the trade-off for having a tool that could protect everyone's privacy -- some people would use it with malicious intent. Overall, he said, the world was better off with cryptography in the hands of the masses rather than just in the hands of government. more>>>