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From: dwl10@amdahl.UUCP (Dave Lowrey)
Newsgroups: sci.crypt,net.sources.d,misc.legal
Subject: Re: There are basically no export controls on public domain information.
Message-ID: <3990@amdahl.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 20-Oct-86 08:52:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: amdahl.3990
Posted: Mon Oct 20 08:52:00 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 21-Oct-86 23:07:17 EDT
References: <1176@hoptoad.uucp> <1889@well.UUCP> <7201@utzoo.UUCP> <716@phred.UUCP> <81@ritcv.UUCP> <8251@sun.uucp>
Reply-To: dwl10@amdahl.UUCP (Dave Lowrey)
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Columbia MD
Lines: 32
Xref: watmath sci.crypt:10 net.sources.d:588 misc.legal:39

In article <8251@sun.uucp> klinner@sun.uucp (Kent Klinner) writes:

> I just joined this conversation, so forgive me if you've already
> discussed this matter.
> 
> Apparently there ARE export controls on public domain information.
> For example, the DES encryption algorithm is in the public domain,
> but the export of DES encryption programs is strictly forbidden,
> even to our friends in Great Britain.
> 
> The products that my company, Sun Microsystems, ship overseas do not
> include des(1) or crypt(1). Crypt(1) has been a standard part of Unix
> for many years and methods for breaking it have been known for years.
> It provides minimal security. I was told that we are forbidden
> by the State Department to export those from the U.S. even though
> the algorithms are in the public domain.
> 
The State Department forbid us to distribute the DES code in our UTS
product to foreign countries.

However, that restriction has now been lifted, and we send the same code to
Europe, as we do to bour US customers.
-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
                               Dave Lowrey

"So it goes, so it goes, so it goes, so it goes. But where it's
 going, nobody knows"   [Nick Lowe]
                                ...!{ihnp4,cbosgd,hplabs}!amdahl!dwl10

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