Editing Clipper chip (section)

== Key escrow ==
The Clipper chip used a data encryption [[algorithm]] called [[Skipjack (cipher)|Skipjack]]<ref name="Skyjack">{{cite web |title=Clipper Chip - Definition of Clipper Chip |url=http://computer.yourdictionary.com/clipper-chip |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704235954/http://computer.yourdictionary.com/clipper-chip |archive-date=2013-07-04 |access-date=2014-01-11 |publisher=computer.yourdictionary.com}}</ref> to transmit information and the [[Diffie–Hellman key exchange]]-algorithm to distribute the public keys between peers. Skipjack was invented by the [[National Security Agency]] of the U.S. Government; this algorithm was initially [[Classified information in the United States|classified]] SECRET, which prevented it from being subjected to [[peer review]] from the encryption research community. The government did state that it used an [[key size|80-bit key]], that the algorithm was [[Symmetric-key algorithm|symmetric]], and that it was similar to the [[Data Encryption Standard|DES]] algorithm. The Skipjack algorithm was declassified and published by the NSA on June 24, 1998. 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]]. In the factory, any new telephone or other device with a Clipper chip would be given a [[key (cryptography)|cryptographic key]], that would then be provided to the government in [[escrow]]. If government agencies "established their authority" to listen to a communication, then the key would be given to those government agencies, who could then decrypt all data transmitted by that particular telephone. The newly formed [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] preferred the term "key surrender" to emphasize what they alleged was really occurring.<ref name="cryptomuseum">{{cite web|url=http://www.cryptomuseum.com/crypto/usa/clipper.htm|title=Clipper Chip|publisher=cryptomuseum.com|access-date=2014-01-11|archive-date=2020-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615131346/https://www.cryptomuseum.com/crypto/usa/clipper.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>