from BoS: News about Sun and Elvis+

[Robert Hettinga]

>From the "other shoe" department...

Cheers,
Bob Hettinga

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X-Authentication-Warning: jekyll.piermont.com: [[UNIX: localhost]] didn't
use HELO protocol
To: cryptography at c2.net
Subject: from BoS: News about Sun and Elvis+
Date: Thu, 22 May 1997 12:58:06 -0400
From: "Perry E. Metzger" <perry at piermont.com>
Sender: owner-cryptography at c2.net


I thought this would be of interest.

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From: "Judas, Roland" <rj at medos.de>
Date: Thu, 22 May 1997 09:36:44 +0100
To: best-of-security at suburbia.net
Subject: BoS: News about Sun and Elvis


- ---  White House Reviews Sun's Encryption Initiative  ---
By John Fontana, Communications Week

WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration said it is reviewing the
relationship between Sun Microsystems and a Russian  company that
produces a strong encryption product, which  Sun is licensing for
worldwide distribution.
The White House issued a statement last night, saying, "We  are
reviewing our regulatory posture with Sun to ensure that  their
arrangement with the Russian encryption company is in  compliance with
U.S. export controls."
The Department of  Commerce, which is responsible for export
regulations on strong encryption, stressed that the administration was
 reviewing the relationship and not conducting an  investigation, a
spokesman said.
Last week, Sun, in Mountain View, Calif., told Communications Week
that it had licensed an encryption product from Moscow, Russia-based
Elvis+ Co., which offers 128-bit keys and would resell it  worldwide
under the name PC Sunscreen SKIP Elvis+. Sun  has approximately a 10
percent equity stake in Elvis+, whose product is based on Sun's Simple
Key Management for IP  (SKIP) protocol. The specification was
published nearly two  years ago.
Humphrey Polanen, general manager of Sun's security and  electronic
commerce group, was confident the government  would find Sun "in full
compliance with the letter of the law."  He said a key factor was that
Sun offered no technical  assistance in the development of the
software.
U.S. law bars the export of encryption over 56 bits without
 government approval. Companies seeking to export 56-bit  products
must also have a system in place within two years  for key recovery.
Netscape Communications, also of Mountain View, has followed that path
with its  browser software, but Sun has neither government approval
 nor a method to recover keys. The administration wants access to keys
in cases of criminal investigations. It is  concerned that strong
encryption products could fall into the hands of terrorists, even
though similar products are  available from nearly 30 foreign
companies.
The statement from the White House also said it had not  evaluated the
product and could not comment on it.
If found in violation of export controls, Sun could face civil  and/or
criminal penalties. Criminal penalties, which would be  handed out by
the Justice Department, could mean Sun  executive officers would spend
time in a federal prison. At press time, Sun had not seen the
announcement and would  not comment.
"The administration may have to go after Sun to protect the  integrity
of its policy," said Marc Rotenberg, the director of  the Electronic
Privacy Information Center. "You might see the  ,Zimmerman effect,'
which would be tremendous public sympathy."
Rotenberg is referring to Phillip Zimmerman, who won a  battle with
the government over his Pretty Good Privacy  encryption product, which
was distributed free over the  Internet.
"The White House is at risk by going after a U.S. company  for making
a good product," Rotenberg said. "This is one  more reason to think
the administration's cryptography policy  is not long for this
world."
Three bills attacking the administration's policy are being  discussed
on Capitol Hill, but only one, the Security and  Freedom through
Encryption Act, has made it out of  committee. The bill, which was
authored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va), would prohibit mandatory key
recovery.
President Clinton is opposed to the bill in its current form.


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-----------------
Robert Hettinga (rah at shipwright.com), Philodox
e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
The e$ Home Page: http://www.shipwright.com/