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.

It’s encouraging to see articles in the mainstream press on data encryption. The New York Times ran a Q&A piece recently on how to encrypt USB sticks. This should be something everyone pays attention to considering how easy it is to lose those tiny USB key chain attachments.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/technology/personaltech/05askk.html

TrueCrypt offers free full-disk encryption for Windows XP, Vista, Mac OS X, and Linux. It lets you choose from multiple encryption algorithms. It provides multiple levels of protection; not only does it encrypt your data, but it even makes it look like no data is there at all to those without the proper access.

They have a “Beginner’s Tutorial’ available. And, its free.

http://www.truecrypt.org/