Pros and Cons of Asymmetric Cryptography
Quick disclaimer: I love cryptography. I don’t fully understand the math that goes into it, but I love it all the same.
Something that has baffled me for quite some time is why we don’t see more cryptography in consumer computing. Passwords, simple authentication tokens, are ubiquitous, even on single-user Windows computers. Real encryption, on the other hand, in virtually non-existant.
Why?
For quite some time now, the general public has had access to some pretty hard-core encryption technology in the form of PGP (or its open-source counterpart, GnuPG). These encryptions systems are, for all practical purposes, unbreakable by intercepting parties.
Why the reluctance to use encryption? A lack of knowledge could play a part. Many people may simply not be aware these systems are available. However, usability is probably the bigger culprit. Using PGP/GPG requires a bit more computer savvy and technical sophistication. These should not be excuses to adoption; the reasons given are merely mental blocks that can easily be overcome.
The reality of the situation is, however, users are missing out on very important safety and privacy features. PGP/GPG also gives users the option to add some verification to email messages. Spam email, for example, could decrease significantly if people would use a system that already exists instead of asking hosting companies to develop new systems to accomplish similar solutions.
There are a myriad of legal problems that will inevitably arise should encryption. Criminal procedure law, in particular search & seizure and the prohibition on self-incrimination, will have to change to adapt to the new uses of technology. This should not be a hinderance to the adoption but a note for future policy debates.
And for the record, my key ID is 0x5123FB44 and my Fingerprint is 2BBE 0A06 4BCE 432B 7917 F15B CF34 5953 5123 FB44.
