http://www.newscientist.com/channel/info-tech/mg18825262.000
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Let chaos keep your secrets safe
19 November 2005
Michael Brooks
Magazine issue 2526
New cryptographic techniques could be good news for everyone except
spies and gossip-seeking, phone call-intercepting journalists
THEY are known as the Squidgy tapes. These covertly recorded phone
calls between Diana, the Princess of Wales, and her friend James Gilbey
provided the world's media with page upon page of salacious speculation about
their relationship.

But you don't have to be in the public eye to be concerned that your
calls might be intercepted. A government report released this month revealed
that the number of mistakes made by the UK's security services when applying
to tap people's phones rose more than sixfold in the last year, with most
of the mistakes involving an attempt to tap the wrong number. With fears
of terrorism loosening restrictions on what the authorities are allowed to
do, even the most law-abiding citizen could be forgiven for wondering who
is listening in to their private phone conversations.

Against that background, a study published in Nature this week could
spell good news for everyone ...

The complete article is 2418 words long.
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