American Computer CEOs Welcome Administration's Progress Toward Creating a Balanced Encryption Policy
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 30, 1998--The Computer Systems Policy Project (CSPP), a coalition of the CEOs of America's twelve leading computer manufacturers, welcomed the release of the Clinton Administration's encryption regulations.
"These regulations show progress," said Scott McNealy, chairman and chief executive officer of Sun Microsystems and co-chair of CSPP's Technology Controls Committee. "Effective information security is a critical part of ensuring that the benefits of modern information technology can be enjoyed by people everywhere, while at the same time, protecting our national security and critical infrastructures."
"As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, the challenge for government is to keep pace with the rapid changes in technology," said Lewis E. Platt, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard Company and chairman of CSPP. "These regulations indicate the Administration has recognized the reality of the growing availability of strong encryption in the international marketplace."
The new regulations liberalize the treatment of encryption hardware and software, up to and including 56-bit DES or equivalent products (e.g., with 1024-bit key exchange), and permit license-free exports of strong encryption to protect financial, health, medical, and business-proprietary information in electronic form. License-free treatment also will apply to source code transferred to foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies and to products exported to on-line merchants, including both retailers and companies involved in the automated supply chain of a business. The new regulations also facilitate the export under license of "recoverable" products, which allow for operator access to plaintext.
CSPP noted that while these measures provide urgently needed relief in some areas, others -- including regulatory relief for encryption interfaces and for exports to Internet service providers and telecommunications companies -- remain to be addressed. CSPP also expressed concerns over excessive delays in Administration processing of export licenses and classifications, which damage U.S. competitiveness with no corresponding national security benefit.
Additionally, CSPP members look forward to working with the Administration in the near future on regulations that will be needed to reflect some recent changes in encryption controls that were agreed to by the nations in the Wassenaar Agreement.
CSPP Technology Controls Committee co-chair Lawrence A. Weinbach, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Unisys Corporation, welcomed the release of the new regulations in time for the New Year, saying, "This is a step forward toward leveling the playing field for American companies. We will continue to work with the Administration to ensure that U.S. export controls do not needlessly weaken our global competitiveness."
CSPP members include: CSPP Chairman Lewis E. Platt, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard Company; Eckhard Pfeiffer, president and chief executive officer of Compaq Computer Corporation; Ronald L. Skates, president and chief executive officer of Data General Corporation; Michael S. Dell, chairman and chief executive officer of Dell Computer Corporation; Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of International Business Machines Corp.; Andrew S. Grove, chairman of Intel Corporation; Lars Nyberg, chairman and chief executive officer of NCR corporation; Richard E. Belluzzo, chairman and chief executive officer of Silicon Graphics, Inc.; Bruce I. Sachs, president and chief executive officer of Stratus Computer, Inc.; Scott G. McNealy, president and chief executive officer of Sun Microsystems, Inc.; Lawrence A. Weinbach, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Unisys Corporation; and, Apple Computer, Inc.
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