"DES, the workhorse of cryptography and the U.S. government encryption standard for just shy of twenty years (from 1978 to 1997), was used to protect a vast array of sensitive information in the United Stated and throughout the rest of the world. Many cryptographers felt that DES, which was a 56-bit standard, was too easily broken. Computer scientists and industry software experts wanted the U.S. to be able to use and export stronger cryptography. The government resisted, claiming that more robust cryptography would allow terrorists, child pornographers, and drug traffickers to better hide their illicit activities.

“DES，密码学的主力军和美国政府的加密标准，在不到二十年的时间里（从1978年到1997年），用于保护美国和世界其他地区的大量敏感信息。许多密码学家认为56位标准的DES太容易被破坏。计算机科学家和行业软件专家希望美国能够使用和出口更强大的密码。政府拒绝，声称更强大的加密技术可以让恐怖分子、儿童色情和毒品贩子更好地隐藏他们的非法活动。