When Bill Clinton wanted to sell the world on an unpopular US encryption policy, he knew where to turn to: a spy novelist. David Aaron's latest book, Crossing by Night, delves into World War II-era cryptography by telling the story of how the Allies broke the codes of Nazi Germany's Enigma computer. Aaron, who also boasts a hefty diplomatic résumé, has been appointed �eld marshal in the modern war over encryption policy that pits law enforcement agencies against netizens. As the newly minted crypto-ambassador, his job is to lobby foreign governments to comply with US policy. "This shows the White House is paying more attention to this issue," says David Banisar of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "With Aaron having close ties to the intelligence community, it's bad news for the Net."
- Declan McCullagh
ELECTRIC WORD
US Crypto Czar
