Off-The-Record Messaging Protocol is a custom tailored encryption scheme for instant messaging based on public key encryption. In addition to the standard benefits of Public Key encryption, such as proving your identity, and encrypting your communication, OTR also offers plausible deniability.

The best part of OTR Messaging Protocol is that its not just a white paper: It has support for most open IM clients. This is the standard for Instant Messaging encryption.

Many encryption schemes are based on Public Key Encryption, or PKI. This form of encryption is based on complex mathematics, but the basic principal is quite simple: Everybody has two Keys.

Read on for the details of how Public Key Encryption works.

The Federal Government has a large input on how encryption is used in everyday life. Because a large amount of software and standards development takes place in the United States, the Federal Government controls how ubiquitous encryption technology is in a variety of ways. Congress has considered legislation ranging from preventing the distribution of software to forcing (by law) and encryption method to have a back door known to government agencies.

Compared to what has been proposed in the past, the US Government currently has a relatively laissez-faire approach. However, the US Department of Commerce has a powerful influence on government policy in that regard. The US Commerce Secretary, as the head of that organization, will help to set US encryption-related policies. We can foresee the direction those will take by looking at Judd Gregg, President Obama’s appointee for Commerce Secretary.

Read on for the full analysis!

* Update * Mr Gregg has declined to accept the cabinet position, claiming that it is “too difficult” for him.

HowStuffWorks has a good overview of what encryption is and how it works. It talks about symmetric key methods which are known to go back to Julius Caesar, and continues on to modern electronic encryption. If you want to get a basic idea of what encryption is and how it works, this is a good place to start.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/encryption.htm

Jörn Rönnow has written a comprehensive guide to setting up GPG email encryption in Outlook, Outlook Express, and Eudora. This guide was written a while ago, but will get you started encrypting like a pro!

http://www.dtek.chalmers.se/~d97jorn/pgp/index.html

Click the subject for more details.