Encryption helps ensure safe transmission of information between two parties, whether it be via telephone, on-line connections, or any other data transmission if there is a phone line involved.  A message is encrypted through the use of algorithms, which transforms the data into digital gibberish for transmission and is then deciphered once received.

The earliest encryption system used the simplest of algorithms called "Caesar Ciphers" which were used by generals and other military officials to send secret messages.  Each letter of the message was replaced with another letter in a specific position from the real letter.  For example, "M"  would be replaced by "R" and "R" would be replaced with "W", etc.

Modern encryption is a much more advanced mathematics that uses algorithms with "keys" to encrypt messages before transmission and decrypt messages upon arrival.  The longer the key, the harder it is to crack the code.  To crack the code, it would be necessary to try every possible key.  Computer keys are made of "bits" of information, which are binary units with the value of zero or one.  An 8 bit key has 256 possible values (2 to the 8th power) and a 56 bit key has 72 quadrillion possible values (2 to the 56th power.)  A 16 character message on a personal computer is equivalent to a 128 bit key, which is 4.7 sextillion times more difficult to crack than a 56 bit key.

Computers today are able to crack a 56 bit key, however, it is much more difficult to crack a 128 bit key.  The U.S. government considered anything larger than 40 bit to be munition and made export illegal beyond 40 bits. Today, the government allows up to 56 bit encryption with some restrictions.  However, 128 bit is becoming the new digital standard.

Encryption software also makes use of keys.  Both the sender and receiver can use single key encryption to encrypt and decrypt messages.  The catch is that the receiver must be able to obtain the key from the sender without it being intercepted.  An advancement of this technology is the invention of the public key, which uses algorithms that utilize a public key and permit decryption only by a private key.

The U.S. Government has recognized the importance of encryption for the safe transmission of business transactions (including the use of credit card numbers for on-line shopping and telephone ordering), classified conversations relating to businesses and government, and all other legitimate forms of private communication.  The Clinton Administration introduced the Clipper Chip ,which is an encryption device powerful enough to be effectively used by the government and industry.  However, keys to the code would be kept by two executive agencies that would allow law
enforcement to wiretap lines in hopes of discovering criminal activity. The arguments for and against the use of the Clipper Chip are discussed in the following section.
 

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