[2824] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
NSA Declassifies Algos
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (John Young)
Tue Jun 23 15:24:17 1998
Date: Tue, 23 Jun 1998 14:37:59 -0400
To: cryptography@c2.net
From: John Young <jya@pipeline.com>
Thanks to Ed Roback, NIST:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun1998/b06231998_bt316-98.html
DoD Press Release, June 23, 1998:
No. 316-78
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 1998
(703)695-0192(media)
(703)697-5737(public/industry)
ENCRYPTION FORMULAS DECLASSIFIED
The Department of Defense today announced the decision by the
National Security Agency to declassify both the Key Exchange
Algorithm and the SKIPJACK encryption algorithm used in the
FORTEZZA(tm) personal computer card. FORTEZZA(tm) provides
security at the desktop in the Defense Message System and other
DoD applications. This marks the first time that the NSA has
declassified such information and made it commercially available.
This declassification is an essential part of the Department of
Defense's efforts to work with commercial industry in developing
reasonably priced computer protection products. This
declassification decision will enable industry to develop software
and smartcard based security products, which are interoperable
with FORTEZZA(tm). The availability of such products will enhance
the protection of DoD's sensitive but unclassified and critical
non-mission communications.
The decision to release SKIPJACK (an 80 bit encryption algorithm
that is not extensible to higher key lengths) and KEA (a 1024 bit
key exchange algorithm) is restricted to these particular
algorithms, and does not apply to other classified NSA algorithms.
The SKIPJACK and KEA algorithms and their source codes have been
declassified pursuant to Executive Order 12958.
Vendors interested in obtaining more information on this matter
should contact the National Security Agency Public Affairs Office
at 301-688-6524.
[End]
