The NY Times (free login required) has an article on encryption and safety of computer data. They are pessimistic: ‘…
“Can encryption safeguard the Internet?…Clearly the answer is no,” said Whitfield Diffie, the inventor of public key cryptography, a method of encoding communications sent on the Internet. “Cryptography is a long way from where the real security problem is…technology alone would not bring about privacy protections. “It really isn’t an issue about encryption and having secure communications,” said Michael Rabin, professor of computer science at Harvard. “The main issue is how is our personal data handled and how is it protected…” Former White House chief of staff John Podesta stated: ‘…this year is the 125th anniversary of the gummed envelope…Podesta noted that this invention had provided “pretty good privacy.” Not because the technology of licking and sealing an envelope was particularly secure, he said, but because “there was a legal, moral and cultural agreement” binding those involved in its transit…’