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Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 00:44:02 +0100 (CET)
From: Anonymous <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Subject: Cryptic Crypto Rules Uncloaked
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: Anonymous <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
November 23, 1999
<http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,7836,00.html>
by Keith Perine
WASHINGTON - With billions of dollars in high-tech encryption tools at
stake, U.S. companies have been eager to know the details of new export
regulations proposed last September. The industry got a first glimpse
yesterday, when the Clinton administration released draft language of the
new rules.
Last night, the government group released a preliminary draft to several
companies that manufacture encryption products. The government asked the
firms to keep the details secret for the time being, but leaked copies of
the draft started circulating earlier today.
The new regulations have so far been met with mixed feelings by the
industry representatives who have seen them. Early reactions suggest that
the government hasn't done enough to calm industry fears about continued
regulatory constraints.
"The draft regulations make progress, but fall short of the breakthrough
announced in September," said Ed Gillespie, executive director of Americans
for Computer Privacy. "Instead of a clean lifting of export restrictions,
we have a complicated morass of regulations."
For years, the U.S. government, led by FBI director Louis Freeh, has argued
that the U.S. must keep a tight lid on the export of data-scrambling
products that guard information transmitted via the Internet. The FBI had
also sought to tie relaxation of the export rules to concessions allowing
the agency greater access to "keys" that can descramble encrypted data.
But the high-tech industry is worried that the tough U.S. stance would make
it impossible for U.S. companies to compete against encryption products
made elsewhere in the world. An industry-sponsored study unveiled last June
reported that American-made encryption products must compete with 805
products made in 35 different countries.
Spurred by industry concerns, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Rep. Zoe
Lofgren, D-Ca., introduced the Security and Freedom Through Encryption Act,
or SAFE, which would mandate relaxation of encryption export regulations
and thwart attempts by law enforcement to get its hands on the descrambling
keys.
The bill attracted widespread support in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Sensing which way the wind was blowing, the administration announced on
Sept. 16 that it would revise, and presumably relax, export regulations.
The FBI backed off on some of its efforts regarding the descrambling keys.
The industry hailed the administration's move, and Goodlatte temporarily
put the brakes on the bill.
Since September, several government agencies, including the FBI, the
National Security Agency and the Department of Commerce have been hashing
out the details. Earlier this month, rumors began circulating that the new
rules wouldn't go far enough to open up the export market.
"It certainly looks like the administration is trying to do the right
thing," said Lauren Hill, chief technology officer for the Software &
Information Industry Association. "But I'm not sure they're ready to bite
the bullet."
Among industry's concerns: How the regulations will define retail products
and government entities. Direct exports to foreign governments are more
tightly controlled than retail sales. And, even under the new regulations,
direct sales to seven nations that the U.S. says are guilty of
state-sponsored terrorism - including Cuba, Iraq and Syria - are forbidden
outright.
The industry wants a broad definition of "retail" and a narrow definition
of "government." The law enforcement and national security communities want
the reverse, to help them keep a lid on espionage."The draft of the
regulations appears to be favorable to industry on those points, according
to Kelly Blough, a spokeswoman for Network Associates, a manufacturer of
encryption products.
"This pretty much liberalizes 90 percent of my company's exports," said
Blough. She said that some of the draft language, including the rules for
sales to telecommunications companies and Internet service providers
abroad, is unclear.
But Network Associates and its competitors in the industry can now weigh in
with their opinions. For the next week or so, government will be taking
comments from the industry. The final draft of the new regulations is due
Dec. 15.
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Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
