Clipper chip

Skipjack was invented by the National Security Agency of the U.S. Government; this algorithm was initially classified SECRET, which prevented it from being subjected to peer review from the encryption research community.

The initial cost of the chips was said to be $16 (unprogrammed) or $26 (programmed), with its logic designed by Mykotronx, and fabricated by VLSI Technology, Inc. At the heart of the concept was key escrow.

"[4] There were several advocates of the Clipper chip who argued that the technology was safe to implement and effective for its intended purpose of providing law enforcement with the ability to intercept communications when necessary and with a warrant to do so.

Howard S. Dakoff, writing in the John Marshall Law Review, stated that the technology was secure and the legal rationale for its implementation was sound.

[6] Organizations such as the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Electronic Frontier Foundation challenged the Clipper chip proposal, saying that it would have the effect not only of subjecting citizens to increased and possibly illegal government surveillance, but that the strength of the Clipper chip's encryption could not be evaluated by the public as its design was classified secret, and that therefore individuals and businesses might be hobbled with an insecure communications system.

[7] The release and development of several strong cryptographic software packages such as Nautilus, PGP[8] and PGPfone was in response to the government push for the Clipper chip.

[9] It pointed out that the Clipper's escrow system had a serious vulnerability: the chip transmitted a 128-bit "Law Enforcement Access Field" (LEAF) that contained the information necessary to recover the encryption key.

[14] This prompted a strong reaction from the authorities, including the chief of detectives for the Chicago Police Department stating that "Apple['s iPhone] will become the phone of choice for the pedophile".