Posted by BW to: cryptography@c2.net, March 18, 1997

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To: infowar@infowar.com
Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 15:16:39 -0500
From: denning@cs.georgetown.edu (Dorothy Denning)
Subject: Organized Crime and Technology Trends


Subject: ORGANIZED CRIME AND TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

Dear colleague:

We are in the process of writing a report on the impact of technology
and encryption on domestic and international organized crime.  The
results will be presented to the Working Group on Organized Crime of the
National Strategy Information Center in Washington, DC on April 29.
Following the meeting, our report and the discussion will be edited into
a monograph which will be published by the NSIC and distributed widely
to law enforcement and intelligence professionals, congressional staff,
academics, and the media.

We seek your input on how encryption and technology have affected your
own cases or cases you are familiar with and on what you anticipate for
the future.  We are interested in cases involving organized crime and
terrorism, including narcotics, money laundering, major criminal fraud,
and child pornography.  Even if you have not encountered encryption, we
are interested in your views on how it will be exploited by organized
crime and ultimately affect our ability to fight global organized crime.
Our specific questions include:

1.  Have you encountered encryption in any cases?  If yes, please
    provide as much information as you can about the cases and the
    impact of encryption on the cases.  We are interested in knowing: 
   
    a.  What was the nature of the case and when and where did it 
        occur?
       
    b.  In what context was encryption used (stored files, e-mail, 
        phone, fax, digital cellular, etc.)?
                      
    c.  What type of encryption was used (vendor, product, method, 
        key length)?
               
    d.  How was the encryption handled in the investigation?  Did the 
        subject turn over the key/password or was it found on the disk?
        Was the encryption broken by some other means (e.g., using
        special cracking software)?  
          
    e.  What was the significance of the encrypted data to the case?  
        If the data were decrypted, did it provide important evidence
        or leads?
           
    f.  What was the outcome of the case and how was that affected
        by your success (or failure) decrypting the data?
           
2.  Have you observed any trends in the use of high technologies by 
    organized crime, including computers, Intranets, cellular phones, 
    digital cellular, scanners, and encryption?
          
3.  If encryption is integrated into standard systems and applications,
    how do you anticipate that affecting investigations and eventual
    prosecutions?

Please return your response by MARCH 20 to either of us.  Include your
name and contact information.  Also, indicate whether we can include in
our report any specific case information you provide with or without
attribution.

Please also distribute this letter to your colleagues in law enforcement
and intelligence who might be able to contribute to our study.

We appreciate your time and help and look forward to your input.


Sincerely,

William E. Baugh, Jr. and Dorothy E. Denning




Mr. William E. Baugh, Jr.
Vice-President, Information Technology and Systems Sector
Science Applications International Corporation
Former Assistant Director, Information Resources Division, FBI
ph: 703-749-8946, fax: 703-734-5960, e-mail:
WILLIAM.E.BAUGH.JR@cpmx.saic.com

Dr. Dorothy E. Denning
Professor, Computer Sciences Department, Georgetown University
ph: 202-687-5703, fax: 202-687-1835, e-mail: denning@cs.georgetown.edu
http://www.cs.georgetown.edu/~denning
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