Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Development
    • Development

    Crypto Headache

    By
    eWEEK EDITORS
    -
    February 12, 2001
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Fifteen months after the Clinton administration relaxed export controls on data-scrambling hardware and software, some U.S. companies are still finding the approval process a troublesome thicket.

      “Encryption and export control laws are out of control,” said Sun Microsystems Chief Executive Scott McNealy, in a recent speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. “We should make encryption available, and it should just not be something that were not allowed to export.”

      Under the so-called relaxed export rules, the government lets through any software written and distributed by the open source community, such as Crypt, Cryptlib and Samba, with no more than a notification that the package is being widely distributed.

      Yet, commercial software such as PGP, Gauntlet Firewall and Checkpoint, whose source code is not public, is still subjected to close scrutiny, even when similar products are available on the open market.

      The regulatory review process typically runs at least one month, and more often three or four, according to lawyers who have gone through the process. Legal fees often total $10,000 per product cleared with the Department of Commerce.

      The regulatory burden, said attorney Kenneth Bass, remains as high as ever. To win approval, developers must still submit their products to the Commerce Departments Bureau of Export Administration, which passes on all software and hardware to the National Security Agency.

      “Youve got a highly technical area that many lawyers dont easily grasp,” he said. “You have a spiders web of complexity and you have an industry that correctly, in my judgment, asks, Why are we doing this? [Encryption controls] remain some of the most complicated export regulations on the books.”

      Bureau of Export Administration officials could not comment for this story by the deadline.

      The government once controlled encryption exports under the theory that terrorists and spies could use crypto to hide activity just as easily as businesses and individuals could use it to fight the bad guys in the first place.

      In addition to banning export of all but the weakest encryption, the government erected a regulatory mechanism that divided encryption technology into dozens of subgroups, at times making distinctions among products that no one in the private sector had made before.

      Some industries, such as the banking industry, received more lenient treatment than others — arms suppliers, for instance.

      Some say the government is making strides. Stewart Baker, one-time counsel to the NSA and cyberlaw specialist at Steptoe & Johnson, said the NSA is doing a good job of reviewing products quickly. Likewise, he said, the agency earns high marks for complying with promises not to ask for more information about clients than sellers usually retain in their customer databases.

      Bass agreed, adding that the Commerce Department bears the brunt of processing the time-consuming applications.

      Perry Metzger, CEO of open source software developer Wasabi Systems, said life is much easier for nonproprietary developers. His company simply writes the encryption it needs into its products, sends a boilerplate notice to the Commerce Department and ships the software without having to wait for a response.

      eWEEK EDITORS
      eWeek editors publish top thought leaders and leading experts in emerging technology across a wide variety of Enterprise B2B sectors. Our focus is providing actionable information for today’s technology decision makers.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×