[Moderator: This was the original article, and it came through fine to my archive account. A second message with the same title went through with no body. Just to make sure it went out, here it is again. Also, there was a big hiccup in majordomo on SekOrg that caused as many as five messages not to go through yesterday (Monday, Aug31). One or two of the messages were replies. If you replied or submitted an article and did not see it, please resend. Thanks!] Forwarded From: Paul Hart <Paul.Hartat_private> URL unknown - received through company internal newsfeed. The Economist Intelligence Unit via NewsEdge Corporation : While EU member states inch towards crafting a common approach on Internet encryption software, a patchwork of national laws is taking shape. Spain is the latest EU member state to put encryption rules on its statute books. Its recently enacted Telecommunications Law 1998 grants Spaniards the right to use "strong cryptography", but the law's opponents note that it also obliges anyone who wants to use such software to deposit an electronic 'key' with a government-approved agency (known as a "Trusted Third Party", or TTP). They argue that TTPs undermine the right to privacy, compromise the security of encryption software and discourage people from sending sensitive information (eg credit card numbers) across open networks like the Internet. The police insist such measures are needed to enable them to tap scrambled e-mail messages sent by criminals and terrorists. Laws vary widely across the EU, with France's the most draconian: any French citizen wishing to use encryption software produced abroad must obtain permission from the prime minister. The UK recently unveiled plans for a voluntary TTP licensing scheme, and several other countries have legislation pending. At the other end of the spectrum are Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, which have no controls. Agreement on a co-ordinated EU-wide approach to encryption policy has not yet been achieved. EU justice ministers emphasised the need to examine encryption software issues after a meeting in the UK earlier this year. But little progress has been made in discussions between national police experts from all 15 member states. <<The Economist Intelligence Unit -- 08-26-98>> -o- Subscribe: mail majordomoat_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Repent Security Incorporated [www.repsec.com] -o- Subscribe: mail majordomoat_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Repent Security Incorporated [www.repsec.com]
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Apr 13 2001 - 13:02:49 PDT