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From: michaelm@bcsaic.UUCP (Michael Maxwell)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d
Subject: Re: There are basically no export controls on public domain information
Message-ID: <770@bcsaic.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 5-Nov-86 16:21:09 EST
Article-I.D.: bcsaic.770
Posted: Wed Nov  5 16:21:09 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Nov-86 04:27:07 EST
References: <249@runx.OZ>
Reply-To: michaelm@bcsaic.UUCP (Michael Maxwell)
Organization: Boeing Computer Services AI Center, Seattle
Lines: 23

In article <249@runx.OZ> zeta@runx.OZ (Nick Andrew) writes:
>...I would not bet that the Russian's didn't already have the full
>text of both DES and crypt(1) methods, with 'C' source...
>	For state or national secrets the Russians can simply send somebody
>to the USA to pick up the source code from any site with crypt(1) and a
>source license.

I shouldn't butt in on this, but...  I would guess that even our government
has the sense to know that the Russians have these encryption
algorithms (or better ones--they do have mathematicians, you know).  My
guess is that the people our government is trying to keep these from are
rather small terrorist groups, small time drug runners, etc.  If such
groups have good connections (as `larger' drug runners no doubt have),
this is pointless, but many of the terrorist groups are (fortunately)
fragmented enough that they may not have sources for these things, nor
the skills to make them given a knowledge of the algorithms.  Likewise the
smaller drug runners and farmers.  Purely speculation on my part, though...

What? Credit my employer with my brilliant ideas???  No way!!
-- 
Mike Maxwell
Boeing Advanced Technology Center
	...uw-beaver!uw-june!bcsaic!michaelm