US Relaxes Crypto Regulations

Guru Meditation writes "CNN reports in an article that Clinton has decided to relax the export restrictions on crypto products, both hardware and software. " The Washington Post also has some good coverage of this. As part of the deal, the FBI will get funds to create a new "code cracker" unit. The Administration, however, did drop the proposal to require backdoor entrance for the government. The new regulations will allow selling to virtually any country, with a few exceptions for nations deemed a national security threat.

Comments

Why there's no info on free software distribution

[Gleef]

Here is the actual whitehouse briefing. The articles had no info on online or free software distribution, because the press release had no information. Our media has gotten so absurdly lazy, they don't bother to inquire about anything.

It would be good if someone could find an online copy of the actual Executive Order.

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Re:Minor nitpick...

[substrate]

For the NSA to get involved in certain actions would be beyond the scope of their charter, it'd be illegal. The purpose of the NSA (pilfered from the NSA web page) is

The National Security Agency is the Nation's cryptologic
organization. It coordinates, directs, and performs highly specialized
activities to protect U.S. information systems and produce foreign
intelligence information. A high technology organization, NSA is on the
frontiers of communications and data processing. It is also one of the
most important centers of foreign language analysis and research within
the Government.

The FBI's charter however is:

The Mission of the FBI is to uphold the law through the investigation of violations of
federal criminal law; to protect the United States from foreign intelligence and
terrorist activities; to provide leadership and law enforcement assistance to federal,
state, local, and international agencies; and to perform these responsibilities in a
manner that is responsive to the needs of the public and is faithful to the Constitution
of the United States.

The NSA's goal is to provide signal intelligence from foreign sources while the FBI's goal is uphold federal law and protect the US against foreign threats. They can be a consumer of information from the NSA if it relates to protecting us from foreign threats but not for residents breaking federal law.

If I'm forced to have an orginization trying to spy on my signals I'd rather have the FBI do it, they won't have near the resources of the NSA (the worlds leading employer of mathematicians). To reduce the chances of me being spyed on I avoid breaking any federal laws.