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China Frustrated In Encryption Talks

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the can't-always-get-what-we-want dept.

mikesd81 writes "According to an AP article, the Chinese are pushing for the encryption standard called WAPI. It's not going so well, as the majority of countries are taking the IEEE standard 802.11i. From the article: 'An international dispute over a wireless computing standard took a bitter turn this past week with the Chinese delegation walking out of a global meeting to discuss the technology. The delegation's walkout from Wednesday's opening of a two-day meeting in the Czech Republic escalated an already rancorous struggle by China to gain international acceptance for its homegrown encryption technology known as WAPI. It follows Chinese accusations that a U.S.-based standards body used underhanded tactics to prevent global approval of WAPI.'"

9 of 252 comments (clear)

  1. Maybe I'm too paranoid, but... by damburger · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Isn't it possible the Chinese could be pushing an encryption standard because they know a flaw in it they can exploit?

    --
    If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we shoot people for Apollo-related non-sequiturs?
    1. Re:Maybe I'm too paranoid, but... by Tom+Womack · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It is entirely conceivable, made more so by the enormous Chinese reticence to publish the SMS4 encryption algorithm they're using and to open it to international review.

      AES versus a Chinese government-approved algorithm which you can only get a specification for by agreeing to partner with one of eleven Chinese firms is not a difficult decision.

    2. Re:Maybe I'm too paranoid, but... by ronanbear · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Too paranoid is sorta an oxymoron on subjects like these.

      In fairness, the Chinese could have a legitimate reason to want their own encryption standard: they own the IP on it. Down the road there could be quite large licensing costs on 802.11n devices. Since this would be an area where the chinese would have the same cost base (for export) it would have the effect of making chinese router exporters less competitive relatively speaking. They would both be funding their rivals and any cost savings they could make in manufacturing would make up a smaller proportion of the cost of the device.

      The actual effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the encryption might be as irrelevant as it is in many standards conflicts.

      --
      the more they over-think the plumbing the easier it is to stop up the pipe
    3. Re:Maybe I'm too paranoid, but... by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Uh...licensing costs? They just steal it. It's standard operating procedure. Seriously.

      Just this weekend, I was at the local expo at my city here in China (I'm an expat). I open up their little guide magazine that comes with the gift bag and city map. Inside, I find content ripped off directly from my own website (I run the local English-language city guide). It's stuff that I wrote, and the freaking government copied it. Of course, there was no use complaining - what am I going to do, sue?

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
  2. No current implementation? by LinuxGeek · · Score: 5, Insightful
    From Wikipedia:
    The WAPI standard requires the use of a symmetric encryption algorithm[1], SMS4, which was declassified in January 2006. The standard and its cryptographic implementation remain unpublished.


    So the Chinese are pushing for a standard that no one can currently verify as being secure and then they get angry?
    --

    Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. - Mark Twain
  3. And Apple is pushing... by demongeek · · Score: 5, Funny

    i11.208, the white and user-friendly encryption that is so hip only the coolest will use it (or be able to afford it)..

    I jest! I jest! *ducks*

  4. Not so fast Sherlock... by bigmouth_strikes · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are no "backdoors" in standards, only in implementations.

    --
    Oh, I can't help quoting you because everything that you said rings true
  5. This "standard" is fucking ridiculous by WhiteWolf666 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You have to partner with a bloody Chinese company to build equipment based on it.

    That's fucking ridiculous.

    The standard is unpublished, and will not be published. It checks in security keys with a centralized Chinese government server.

    I cannot imagine a world that would permit this to become an international standard, and if China insists on all equipment manufactured within its borders to have this technology it'll just push electronics manufacturing out of China.

    For a long time, people have predicted that the heavy hand of the Chinese government will one day disrupt the economic boom happening there. I hope to god not; an unstable, economically volatile China sounds like a nightmare to me.

    --
    WhiteWolf666 an exBush supporter. All you new-school,compassionate,save the children Republicans can rot in hell
  6. Re:I guess the Chinese aren't good diplomats by WhiteWolf666 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What they did?

    They proposed a secret standard, with a central key repository (located on Chinese government servers). Implementation of this standard was given to 12 Chinese companies, and developing any devices based on this standard requires partnering with these Chinese manufacturers.

    It isn't patent-encumbered, but that's because its a secret, and patenting it would require releasing the details.

    There isn't any debate to win. Not only is it proprietary versus open, its proprietary and exclusively controlled-and-licensed-and-manufactured by the Chinese government and Chinese state-owned companies.

    Everything about WAPI is wrong.

    --
    WhiteWolf666 an exBush supporter. All you new-school,compassionate,save the children Republicans can rot in hell