From: "Benjamin Chad Wienke" <woodwose@mailexcite.com>
Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 11:43:48 +0800
To: "Cypherpunks List" <cypherpunks@cyberpass.net>
Subject: (No Subject)
Message-ID: <DFIBLIDNKAFKDAAA@mailexcite.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



At 07:33 PM 11/26/97 -0500, Robert Hettinga wrote:
>In message <v03007800b09f865249e2@[172.17.1.150]>, Rick Smith writes:
>>
>> I recently spoke informally with a couple of sub-Cabinet level officials
on
>> crypto policy. Their comments indicated that the FBI et al are
dominating
>> internal meetings on the subject with the same polarizing rhetoric
they're
>> using in Congress. One official said that he was accused of
intentionally
>> aiding terrorists at one of these meetings.
>
>During a recent application for crypto export approval, which should have

>been routine, we were contacted by an individual from the *FBI* (not from
>BXA) who refused our export license because we didn't have a key recovery
>system *in place now*. This is despite the facts that:
>
>- the export license was to use our strong cryptography products for
>  communications between our international sales offices and head office;
>  this used to be a rubber-stamp license, and
>
>- we are in the process of implementing key recovery technology as part of a
>  a seperate export approval for our DES-56 products.
>
>I couldn't even get an answer as to why the FBI had jurisdiction over our
>export approval.

I guess the FBI has decided that it is going to be the secret police when
the time comes. (And I had been thinking it was going to be the ATF!) I
wonder if they could be egged into a turf war amongst themselves--if they
are fighting each other, they have less time and energy to fuck with us...



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