Final answer:
The Clipper chip implements the U.S. Escrowed Encryption Standard, enabling secure communications with a key escrow system for government access in specific scenarios. Developed by the NSA, it faced substantial criticism and was not widely adopted.
Step-by-step explanation:
The chip which implements the U.S. Escrowed Encryption Standard and was developed by the National Security Agency (NSA) is the Clipper chip. It was part of the Capstone project, which also included other cryptographic technologies. The Clipper chip was introduced in 1993 as an encryption device that would secure voice and data messages while allowing government agencies to decrypt these messages, if necessary, through a key escrow system. This system received significant criticism from civil liberty groups and experts in cryptology, due to the potential for government surveillance and the risks of introducing vulnerabilities.
The Clipper chip uses an encryption algorithm called Skipjack, which was classified at the time but has since been declassified. The primary idea behind the Clipper chip's escrow system was to allow government access under certain conditions, such as to counter terrorism or to resolve criminal investigations. However, due to privacy concerns and the rapid evolution of encryption technology, the initiative to implement the Clipper chip widely was ultimately unsuccessful. Other technologies mentioned, like the Hardware Security Module (HSM) and the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), serve different purposes in the field of information security.