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msm1267 writes: The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security today made public its proposal to implement the controversial Wassenaar Arrangement, and computer security specialists are wary of its language and vagaries. For starters, its definition of "intrusion software" that originally was meant to stem the effect of spying software such as FinFisher and Hacking Team, has also apparently snared many penetration testing tools. Also, despite the Commerce Department's insistence that vulnerability research does not fall under Wassenaar, researchers say that's up for interpretation.

The master hacker Raph Levien sent me a Reuters press release regarding the signing of the Wassenaar arrangement by 33 countries, including Germany, Japan, Finland, Canada, Ireland, and Britain. One of the reasons cited was that firms including Intel and Microsoft "have complained that the lack of restrictons in other countries hampered their ability to compete abroad". Interestingly enough, products which use encryption to protect "intellectual property" are exempt. This should show up on all the major news sites soon. For those who haven't figured it out yet, the agreement is not exactly a laissez faire sorta thing. Update: Read the Reuters Article, or check the Wassenaar Arrangment web site for more info.