There are several newsgroups relevant for discussions about cryptography and related issues.

• sci.crypt — an unmoderated forum for discussions on technical aspects of cryptography.
• sci.crypt.research — a similar, moderated group, focusing on research into cryptography. It was founded based on a charter by Peter Gutmann.
• sci.crypt.random-numbers — discuss generation of cryptographically secure random numbers.
• talk.politics.crypto — discussions of the relationship between cryptography and government. The original charter was by D.J. Silverton.
• alt.security.pgp — discussion of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) and related software.

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In 1995, Bruce Schneier commented, "It is read by an estimated 100,000 people worldwide. Most of the posts are nonsense, bickering, or both; some are political, and most of the rest are requests for information or basic questions. Occasionally nuggets of new and useful information are posted to this newsgroup."^[1]

Leaked descriptions of secret algorithms have been posted to the Internet via sci.crypt, for example RC2, RC4 and Khufu and Khafre. Others have been hoaxes: Iraqi block cipher and S-1, the latter an alleged description of the (then-secret) Skipjack cipher. The group is also the origin of the term, "Rubber-hose cryptanalysis".