From: Michael Motyka <mmotyka@lsil.com>
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 1998 02:41:59 +0800
To: cypherpunks@Algebra.COM
Subject: Re: "Export" controls
Message-ID: <3665810E.1BBD@lsil.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



> I am unaware that microshit OS has hard crypto built-in.
> 
I was pointing out a retail parallel, not a crypto parallel.
You sure it's not Microshaft? More meanings.

> The question is how to make money by selling hard crypto in the US.
>
A little experiment is often a good thing. I heard that the guys who
made the DES cracker have had $$ requests for machines and/or chips.

> To recap, there are no hard crypto drop-in hardware products
> available to general public in the USA today.
>
In case you missed it, my original reply was an attempt to open
discussion on some type of cooperative effort.

Look at http://www.xilinx.com/products/xc4000XLA.html for prototype
purposes. I wonder how many DES or IDEA engines could be put on a 500K
gate array? It would fit about 35 instantiations of Twofish. That should
be enough for a phone or a disk encryptor.

It's not trivial but -
Products can be done. 
On a shoestring. 
By the right people. 
Even non-geniuses.
Who want to get them done. <-- the key item

No sense pushing the button without critical mass.

sigh...

A friend's t-shirt many years ago:
  A penny for your thoughts, twenty bucks to act them out.