Computer security

[Guest guest]

(CNN) -- A cryptography expert

says that Microsoft operating

systems include a back door that

allows the National Security Agency

to enter systems using one of the

operating system versions.

The chief scientist at an Internet

security company reported the flaw

at a recent conference in Santa

Barbara where he discussed a " key "

entrance into the cryptographic

standard used in Microsoft

Windows products. That includes

Windows 95, Windows 98,

Windows NT4 and Windows2000.

" It turns out that there are really two keys used by

Windows; the first

belongs to Microsoft, and it allows them to securely

load (the cryptography

services), " said Fernandes in a press release.

Fernandes works for

Cryptonym, a company based in Ontario.

The press release states " the second belongs to the

NSA. That means that

the NSA can also securely load (the services) on your

machine, and without

your authorization. "

The discovery " highly suggests " that the NSA has a key

it could use to enter

encrypted items on anybody's Windows operating system,

said Ian

Goldberg, chief scientist at Zero-Knowledge Systems.

Goldberg was among

a few dozen people in the audience at the conference

when Fernandes

dropped his bomb.

The session occurred just before midnight so no one

saw it coming, he said,

but the audience was shocked.

" If you're trying to keep messages private, it's

possible that they are not as

private as you thought they were, " Goldberg said.

Zero-Knowledge Systems is about to release a security

product built

specially to make such security flaws impossible, he

said.

Microsoft was not immediately available for comment.

It is unclear why or if Microsoft cooperated with the

NSA on the key to its

" CryptoAPI, " the standard interface to its

cryptography services, Goldberg

said.

More details to follow.