CDR: Re: Re: Lions and Tigers and Backdoors, oh, my...

[Ray Dillinger]

On Tue, 26 Sep 2000, Michael Motyka wrote:

>
>>From the article...
>
> Until recently the US government strictly controlled the strength of
> cryptography in software exported to different countries, in order
> to protect the government's ability to access and monitor
> communications data. The regulations were relaxed after pressure
> from industry but Madison believes that this may have driven the
> NSA to find ways to carry out surveillance. "They're not going to
> give in over exporting strong cryptography without getting
> something in return," he says. 
>
>I can't believe that they would voluntarily enter a period of weakend
>capabilities. My guess would be that he has the event ordering wrong.

Nope, he's got it right.  

There used to be, officially, a 40-bit key length limit on exportable 
software.  This made american software products with any crypto capacity 
ridiculously weak, to the point where anyone concerned about security 
would not use it -- the software industry was losing to foreign 
competition, and the quality of the intercepts was going down because 
everybody was wise to it and nobody who mattered to them was using it 
anymore. 

New policy:  The BXA approves export licenses for people who put all 
but the last 40 bits of the key in the headers or trailers somewhere, 
encrypted under a key that the NSA doubtless knows.  

Not that this is noised about too much.  Feature AOL saying "yes, we 
broke the encryption in Netscape starting after version 4.07..." not 
bloody likely.  

After a little security skirmish with my (now Ex)Bank, I discovered 
this about Netscape and Internet Explorer; both have "help fields" 
in their headers that facilitate cryptanalysis of SSL connections 
if you have the key to the help field.  

As far as I know, the same is true of all software that has BXA approval 
for downloadable status.  At least (name deleted -- a friend who works 
at netscape) confirmed that they couldn't get BXA approval for export, OR 
get anyone at BXA to tell them why not, except for vague wailing about 
"security considerations" until someone finally offered to put in a 
"help field".  

Anyway; people concerned about security from ordinary theives can now 
be reassured because only the US gov't gets the juicy bits, and the 
Uber-theives at the US gov't are reassured because they are getting 
the juicy bits again now that most people think US products have "strong" 
crypto.

Don't get me started on this; I get so mad I can't see straight.

Keywords to search by:  "Help field" (in quotes), PKI, NSA, "40 bits"
"Netscape" -- It's out there, mostly in smarmy self-congratulatory 
tones about how "We are pleased to announce that Netscape is working 
with us and will be in compliance with the Public-Key Infrastructure" 
by (Date -- I forget the date, but it coincides with the release of 
Netscape 4.5). 

			Ray