Encryption-the process of mathematically scrambling computer data to ensure security-has been a subject of debate for several decades, but the growth of the Internet has heightened the debate. Opponents of government control of encryption argue that it is an important privacy tool and is vital in using the Internet. However, the National Security Agency (NSA) and the control encryption, mainly to prevent criminals from keeping too many computerized secrets. Until approximately 25 years ago, encryption had been the sole domain of the NSA.