Your story on the changes in export control regulations, got some major facts wrong:
(1) The government has no access to keys up to 56 bits. There is no requirement that there be any form on data recovery for keys less than 56 bits. This increases the strength of exportable encryption systems by a factor of 65,536. It increases the amount of time a hacker takes to crack a message from hours to decades.
(2) The Freedom of Information Act applies only to official US Documents. There is nothing in FOIA that would require or even allow the Government to disclose anything it finds during a court-ordered search.
(3) The Government will allow export of any strength cryptography if there is a plan in place for the Government to recover the data under a legal court order. Large organizations, like Boeing or GM could keep their own keys. More than the factual errors, the tone is wrong. It is like saying, don’t build stronger locks because the police can always get a court order and break in. It is true that under the Fourth Amendment the police can search any home or office in America. However, it does not make a good argument for not buying a good lock. Do you feel your home is inherently insecure because the police can search it? Would you prefer to leave it unlocked? I have been working with the administration for over a year on export controls. Vice President Gore made a bold move over the objections of the FBI and the Department of Justice. It is a move that will help people lock their homes in cyberspace. A responsible press should encourage people to use the best locks available to them and not leave the impression that locks are useless. It is much more important to lock out the bad guy than the police.
Donald Lewine
Data General Corp.
D112 4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01580
We were not trying to suggest that anyone should not use a lock, simply that organizations based outside the US might still feel safer using a German or a Russian or a Japanese lock to protect their sensitive data, rather than a lock that Uncle Sam could pick.
