UNIX-like crypt function

Richard J. Miller rmiller at laidy.i88.isc.com
Thu Aug 24 09:57:21 AEST 1989


In article <17369 at ut-emx.UUCP> nghiem at walt.cc.utexas.edu (Alex Nghiem) writes:
>[request for crypt function]
i add
    [from Eindhoven]
>
>Didn't I read somewhere that Unix encryption was restricted to
>U.S.A. and not for export? What happens if the function gets
>in the "wrong" hands through the network?
>
>nghiem at walt.cc.utexas.edu

the real restriction was (and still is, i believe) on the DES algorithm,
which is, at least in some form, at the heart of the UNIX crypt function.

the restriction is not so much to keep the function out of the "wrong"
hands, especially seeing as it does not decrypt, but rather to keep the
algorithm out of lots of peoples hands so they can't figure out how to
decrypt the results.

and the restriction is a real pain in the !@#$%@^&# to people who have
to package systems for an international environment ...

Rich Miller
{sun, amdahl, att (maybe)}!laidbak!rmiller



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