Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rice!uupsi!sunic!dkuug!iesd!iesd.auc.dk!bai From: bai@iesd.auc.dk (Bo Nygaard Bai) Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions Subject: Re: Security for UNIX ... looking for crypt() ... Message-ID: Date: 12 Jun 90 17:56:22 GMT References: <1139@neon.UUCP> <56@raysnec.UUCP> <13087@smoke.BRL.MIL> Sender: news@iesd.auc.dk (UseNet News) Organization: Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Aalborg Lines: 23 In-reply-to: gwyn@smoke.BRL.MIL's message of 12 Jun 90 06:50:37 GMT In article <13087@smoke.BRL.MIL> gwyn@smoke.BRL.MIL (Doug Gwyn) writes: >The export control concerns are solely due to legal considerations >and government bureaucracy, not because anyone is seriously worried >about crypt() "falling into the wrong hands". Don't forget protectionism. This is, as i see it, the only possible reason. What is an algorithm with export restrictions doing in UNIX ? Secure NFS, mail etc. uses some form of the DES algorithm. When a SUN workstation leaves the US it has no des(1) or crypt(1), and no DES chip. This makes it virtually impossible to use secure NFS. If DES can't be used outside of the US, then no part of UNIX software should depend on it. DES must be be released globally, or be removed totally from UNIX and replaced by a globally available encryption standard. -- .___ o .__ | | Bo Nygaard Bai | Department of Computer Science ,_//( |__. | | |/ | | University of Aalborg (AUC) / | \ ___| | |__ |\ nature | bai@iesd.auc.dk | DENMARK A U C