Markoff in NYT on NTT/RSA chip
Heh. You read it first in the CyberWire Dispatch Brock and I put out earlier tonight. :) -Declan --- Japanese Data-Scrambling Chip Renews Debate By JOHN MARKOFF W ASHINGTON -- Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. has quietly begun selling a powerful data-scrambling chip set that is likely to undermine the Clinton administration's efforts to restrict the export of the fundamental technology for protecting secrets and commerce in the information age. The existence of the two-chip set, which will have broad potential application for local computer networks, the Internet and telephone switching networks, was disclosed in Washington in a speech Monday at a public policy workshop by the chief executive of RSA Data Security, a Silicon Valley-based company that has frequently dueled with the administration over its export-control policies. [...]
There are still a few unclear (to me) points about this story: 1. CWD says that RSA's Japanese subsidiary developed the chips. Markoff says NTT did. It sounds to me like NTT is the more likely developer, since they have a great deal of silicon design experience. 2. Markoff's story says that NTT doesn't have licenses to use RSA technology (the quote from Junichi Kishigami), but the bit about safely swapping private-key info makes me wonder if instead they're using DH-- the patent for which expires next year. A telecom chipset could make productive use of DH for key exchange at call setup. 3. Once you import an ITAR item, its export becomes controlled. Importing the NTT chipset for use, say, in a Motorola cell switch (made in IL) would seem to be problematic. Buying chips in Japan for shipment to Moto's phone factories in Singapore and Malaysia, however, would appear to be OK. Under the present export regs, it's not clear to me how many US manufacturers would adopt this chipset since it doesn't give them any export relief. If the NRC's recommendations are adopted, that still won't help, since triple-DES is over their recommended limit. The _good_ news is that US manufacturers could put these chipsets into domestic-only products, and I sincerely hope they will. -Paul -- Paul Robichaux LJL Enterprises, Inc. paul@ljl.com Be a cryptography user. Ask me how.
jonathon writes:
<< Any guesses on just how long ITAR stays around, once several companies announce they are terminating the employment of 1000+ people, for work overseas, because of ITAR? >>
You're assuming that the "jobs" card beats the "crypto-terrorist" card. I wouldn't count on it. -russ <nelson@crynwr.com> http://www.crynwr.com/~nelson Crynwr Software | Crynwr Software sells packet driver support | PGP ok 11 Grant St. | +1 315 268 1925 voice | It's no mistake to err on Potsdam, NY 13676 | +1 315 268 9201 FAX | the side of freedom.
paul: On Tue, 4 Jun 1996, Paul Robichaux wrote:
the NTT chipset for use, say, in a Motorola cell switch (made in IL) would seem to be problematic. Buying chips in Japan for shipment to Moto's phone factories in Singapore and Malaysia, however, would appear to be OK. Under
So the companies simply ship their _entire_ production facility offshore, to whichever country has no crypto export regulations. << Any guesses on just how long ITAR stays around, once several companies announce they are terminating the employment of 1000+ people, for work overseas, because of ITAR? >> And doing all of their manufacturing offshore means they could use Triple-DES, or BlowFish, or any other crypto algorithm. xan jonathon grafolog@netcom.com ********************************************************************** * * * Opinions expressed don't necessarily reflect my own views. * * * * There is no way that they can be construed to represent * * any organization's views. * * * ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ * * * http://members.tripod.com/~graphology/index.html * * * ***********************************************************************
David Lesher writes:
So Motorboatarola puts chips in the domestic MTSO's. For the international ones, they leave the chips out.
Crypto hooks, or more properly, crypto pads. Lends new meaning to the term "one time pads". -russ <nelson@crynwr.com> http://www.crynwr.com/~nelson Crynwr Software | Crynwr Software sells packet driver support | PGP ok 11 Grant St. | +1 315 268 1925 voice | It's no mistake to err on Potsdam, NY 13676 | +1 315 268 9201 FAX | the side of freedom.
3. Once you import an ITAR item, its export becomes controlled. Importing the NTT chipset for use, say, in a Motorola cell switch (made in IL) would seem to be problematic. Buying chips in Japan for shipment to Moto's phone factories in Singapore and Malaysia, however, would appear to be OK.
So Motorboatarola puts chips in the domestic MTSO's. For the international ones, they leave the chips out. If the local service agency in Freedonia wants to buy the chips from Japan & install them themselves, what can IL say? -- A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com & no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433 is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
participants (5)
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David Lesher -
Declan McCullagh -
jonathon -
nelson＠crynwr.com -
Paul Robichaux