Updated encryption tool for al-Qaeda backers improves on first version, researcher says

Computerworld ^ | Jaikumar Vijayan

[gondramB]

>>And don’t forget making our companies less competitive since they could only ship products with 40-bit encryption while foreigners’ products could ship with anything.

I understand the reason for export controls, but there was a point where the encryption controls did more harm than good, and that point was crossed years before the controls were dropped.<<

Export controls also work better for missiles etc than for tiny pieces of computer code. There used to be nerd-popular tee shirts with encryption code on them and a warning that the shirt was legally munitions.

[antiRepublicrat]

Export controls also work better for missiles etc than for tiny pieces of computer code.

I guess it would have been more effective if exporting books full of cryptographic theory and code samples hadn't been legal under the export controls. Free speech meets export controls.

[Still Thinking]

This researcher doesn’t need to say that! That info should still remain secret! Now the enemy knows we analyzed it and made prouncements about it. Shoulda said we can’t figure it out! Leave them guessing!

Assuming they're telling the truth. If not, not necessarily a bad play. Even if they are, Mustafa & Co., are probably paranoid enough to wonder if that's what they're doing. After all, the question isn't "Are you paranoid?", but "Are you paranoid enough?"

[joebuck]

"I wonder how different things would be if we had not eliminated the encryption export rules a few years ago."

Given the ease of distribution over the internet such rules would be impossible to enforce.