Rick_McCormack@mindlink.UUCP (Rick McCormack) (02/12/91)
In an article, Thomas Okken <thomas@duteca.et.tudelft.nl> writes: >[stuff deleted] In the release notes I read that the >password encryption feature has been disabled in the >international version, and this brought back a memory of a >friend recently telling me that this was also the case in >PC-land with PKZIP. All of this seems due to some (new?) >U.S. export law. Could anyone enlighten me as to what this >new law might be? And what purpose it is expected to serve? >[stuff deleted] Thanks! It has been illegal for many years, (since DES encryption was invented, in fact, :-) ) to ship programs incorporating the DES encryption scheme outside the United States. Canada enjoys a special status here -- we are not considered to be "out of the United States" I guess. ;-> Most license agreeemnets on packages with the DES encryption included (most? ALL!) include a provision that you agree not to export the DES sections without specific written approval from the owners and the US government. ______________________________________________________________ | Rick McCormack | IMAGISTICS BUSINESS THEATRE TECHNOLOGY | | Vancouver, BC | Information transfer - with a purpose. | | CANADA | ________________________________________ | | AOL: Rique | INTERACTIVE COMPREHENSIVE ENLIGHTENING | |________________|____________________________________________|
thomas@duteca (Thomas Okken) (02/13/91)
I just ftp-d Compact Pro 1.30, a natural enough thing for me to do, since I am a satisfied and registered Compactor user. In the release notes I read that the password encryption feature has been disabled in the international version, and this brought back a memory of a friend recently telling me that this was also the case in PC-land with PKZIP. All of this seems due to some (new?) U.S. export law. Could anyone enlighten me as to what this new law might be? And what purpose it is expected to serve? (It is not particularly hard to get someone in the U.S. to send the U.S. version of the aforementioned programs to Europe or elsewhere, especially in net-land!) Thanks! - Thomas (thomas@duteca.et.tudelft.nl)
blm@6sceng.UUCP (Brian Matthews) (02/14/91)
In article <1220@duteca.UUCP> thomas@duteca.et.tudelft.nl (Thomas Okken) writes: |In the release notes I read that the password encryption feature has been |disabled in the international version, and this brought back a memory of a |friend recently telling me that this was also the case in PC-land with PKZIP. |All of this seems due to some (new?) U.S. export law. It's not new, but it is a US export law. Certain types of sensitive technology can't be exported. DES encryption is considered one such sensitive technology. |(It is not particularly hard to get someone in the |U.S. to send the U.S. version of the aforementioned programs to Europe or |elsewhere, especially in net-land!) You know this, and I know this, but there're evidently some bureaucrats somewhere in Washington (D.C., we don't want them :-)) that think they're keeping the world safe for democracy by restricting something that's been written up in journals and magazines that any decent sized library will have. Note that I don't blame Bill for disabling the encryption. Although the export restriction is silly, it does exist, and anyone who flaunts could be in for some trouble. And as you note, it's not that tough to get the US version. -- Brian L. Matthews blm@6sceng.UUCP