March 1998
Libertarian code-busters join campaign
A group of Libertarians are putting their computers where their principles are -- and have joined a nationwide effort to crack an "uncrackable" code to highlight the dangers of the government's anti-encryption laws.
Vermont Libertarian Hardy Macia has organized the group, called "Libertarians for Privacy," which is donating spare computer cycles to attempt to crack a 64-bit encrypted message as part of the nationwide "RC5-64 Challenge."
Their goal: To prove that government laws which restrict encryption programs to only 64-bits are short-sighted, a violation of free speech, and a danger to Internet privacy.
Libertarians for Privacy is competing to be the team that cracks the code -- winning a $1,000 prize and making the LP a "status symbol" in the pro-encryption movement, said Hardy.
"Libertarians believe in the right to privacy," he said. "I thought, the RC5-64 Challenge might be a good place to show a libertarian presence on the web."
What exactly is the RC5-64 Challenge, and what is 64-bit encryption?
"RC5-64 is an attempt by the Internet community to crack an encrypted message," explained Hardy. "The spare cycles of thousands of computers are being used to crack the message to show that the government must allow stronger encryption technology to be used -- or else our data is at risk."
10,000 years
The RC5-64 Challenge is a voluntary effort of individual computer users and groups, using computers linked by the Internet. The idea is that thousands of computers, working together, can relatively quickly crack a code that it might take one computer 10,000 years to decode.And 64-bit encryption is a measure of encryption strength. Even 64-bit encryption can be cracked, but it would require computers to crunch through billions of possible mathematical combinations to discover the key to unlock the code.
Hardy just started organizing his Libertarian team within the last several months -- but said he has ambitious goals.
"I have just started letting people know about the competition," he said. "So far, we have a very small team of about five computers. If the Libertarians for Privacy team had 100 Pentium and PowerPC computers working together, we would shoot by most of the mid-sized teams."
There is plenty of time for LP members to join the team, said Hardy, since it will take months -- and lots of computer power -- to crack 64-bit encryption.
"The estimate at the current level of voluntary effort is over a year to crack [the code]," he said.
Once the code is cracked, said Hardy, "The organizers of the RC5 effort will take care of notifying the government," and use their success as leverage to lobby for stronger encryption rights -- or to get the government entirely out of the encryption regulation business.
"The government should allow individuals to choose whatever encryption methods suits their needs," he said.
Hardy has a history of both computer expertise and LP activism. He is currently the Webmaster for the Vermont LP site, the LP Town Chair of Grand Isle, and Secretary and Outreach Coordinator of the Vermont LP.
Want to join the Libertarians for Privacy team?
Contact Hardy via e-mail at: vtlpRC5@catamount.com. Or visit his Web page at:
http://homepages.together.net/~hardy/VTLP/rc5.html.
