Export-level Encryption Proves Insufficient

Posted by michael on Friday January 18, 2002 @02:16AM from the forty-bits-is-not-enough dept.

rossjudson writes: "The Independent is running an article about the shoe bomber terrorist. The interesting bit for Slashdot readers is at the bottom -- apparently the 40-bit encryption in the export version of Windows 2000 was cracked by a set of computers using a brute force method. So let's confront the question: Should the US prohibit the export of high-encryption software? Here is a case where the default values (40 bit) clearly helped recover valuable information from a system." There's another article in New Scientist focusing on the encryption issue.

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Get with the program... by GiorgioG · 2002-01-18 02:31 · Score: 5, Informative

128-bit Encryption Becomes the Default in Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

The Windows® 2000 operating system was the first Microsoft platform with 128-bit encryption to be shipped internationally after the United States government relaxed its export restrictions for strong encryption in early 2000. Microsoft has obtained the necessary approvals to ship Windows 2000 with strong encryption to all customers worldwide except U.S. embargoed destinations.