[161] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
40-bit rc2/4
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Greg Rose)
Wed Feb 5 12:38:17 1997
To: cryptography@c2.net
Date: Wed, 05 Feb 1997 18:06:12 +1100
From: Greg Rose <ggr@qualcomm.com>
Just finished reading the new EARs and was stunned
to realise that the "40 bit RC4" exemption really
did only apply to RC4 (and RC2). You can't, for
example, use nobbled DES, or ROT13 (unless you
agree to key escrow of course...)
I'm impressed that the EARs even include RSA's
phone number, so that you can license the
software to comply with this exemption. How did
they (RSA) manage this?
(Aside: ROT13? I can visualise it now. Every six months
you have to write to the government and tell them
that the key is "13", and you promise to tell them
that whenever they want to recover a dirty joke
from USENET, without, of course, notifying
the individual posting the joke. You must show
business plans and demonstrate that there is an
individual who knows the number who is financially
stable, etc., who will be responsible for telling
them the secret number (13).
)
Greg.
--
Greg Rose INTERNET: ggr@Qualcomm.com
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