> Hey, the NSA meddle with *many* US software companies that have any
> likelyhood of shipping anything resembling crypto, even Microsoft, so
> it's not much of a reference.
>
> I doubt that they care nearly as much for security of the "you can't
> hack into it" variety.
Have you looked at the Wassenaar "dual-use goods" lists? It includes
certifiably secure operating systems, test suites for such things,
cables and communication systems with the ability to detect
wiretapping, and RF shielding intended to avoid "over-the-air"
wiretapping, among other things. (And cryptographic stuff, of course.)
It is my considered opinion that the listings of these materials on the
export-control list is directly contrary to the stated purpose of the
Wassenaar Arrangement, which is to "contribute to regional and
international security and stability".
I am curious what possible justification these restrictions can have
for being on the list. Who benefits by everyone having computers that
are easy to break into and communications that are easy to intercept?
-- <kragen@pobox.com> Kragen Sitaker <http://www.pobox.com/~kragen/> [around 1998-12-23], it is amazing to watch fear and loathing and greed at play with the more speculative Internet stocks. To call this a tulip craze would be a vast understatement. -- Adam Rifkin, <adam@cs.caltech.edu>