[ISN] linux-ipsec: FreeS/WAN press release

From: cult hero (jerichoat_private)
Date: Tue Apr 13 1999 - 22:39:41 PDT

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    Forwarded From: Sandy Harris <sandy.harrisat_private>
    Originally From: Henry Spencer <henryat_private>
    
    
    Strong Internet Privacy Software Free for Linux Users Worldwide
    
    Toronto, ON, April 14, 1999 - 
    
    The Linux FreeS/WAN project today released free software to protect the
    privacy of Internet communications using strong encryption codes. 
    FreeS/WAN automatically encrypts data as it crosses the Internet, to
    prevent unauthorized people from receiving or modifying it.  One ordinary
    PC per site runs this free software under Linux to become a secure gateway
    in a Virtual Private Network, without having to modify users' operating
    systems or application software.  The project built and released the
    software outside the United States, avoiding US government regulations
    which prohibit good privacy protection.  FreeS/WAN version 1.0 is
    available immediately for downloading at http://www.xs4all.nl/~freeswan/. 
    
    "Today's FreeS/WAN release allows network administrators to build
    excellent secure gateways out of old PCs at no cost, or using a cheap new
    PC," said John Gilmore, the entrepreneur who instigated the project in
    1996.  "They can build operational experience with strong network
    encryption and protect their users' most important communications
    worldwide." 
    
    "The software was written outside the United States, and we do not accept
    contributions from US citizens or residents, so that it can be freely
    published for use in every country," said Henry Spencer, who built the
    release in Toronto, Canada.  "Similar products based in the US require
    hard-to-get government export licenses before they can be provided to
    non-US users, and can never be simply published on a Web site.  Our
    product is freely available worldwide for immediate downloading, at no
    cost." 
    
    FreeS/WAN provides privacy against both quiet eavesdropping (such as
    "packet sniffing") and active attempts to compromise communications (such
    as impersonating participating computers).  Secure "tunnels" carry
    information safely across the Internet between locations such as a
    company's main office, distant sales offices, and roaming laptops.  This
    protects the privacy and integrity of all information sent among those
    locations, including sensitive intra-company email, financial transactions
    such as mergers and acquisitions, business negotiations, personal medical
    records, privileged correspondence with lawyers, and information about
    crimes or civil rights violations.  The software will be particularly
    useful to frequent wiretapping targets such as private companies competing
    with government-owned companies, civil rights groups and lawyers,
    opposition political parties, and dissidents. 
    
    FreeS/WAN provides privacy for Internet packets using the proposed
    standard Internet Protocol Security (IPSEC) protocols.  FreeS/WAN
    negotiates strong keys using Diffie-Hellman key agreement with 1024-bit
    keys, and encrypts each packet with 168-bit Triple-DES (3DES).  A modern
    $500 PC can set up a tunnel in less than a second, and can encrypt 6
    megabits of packets per second, easily handling the whole available
    bandwidth at the vast majority of Internet sites.  In preliminary testing,
    FreeS/WAN interoperated with 3DES IPSEC products from OpenBSD, PGP, SSH,
    Cisco, Raptor, and Xedia.  Since FreeS/WAN is distributed as source code,
    its innards are open to review by outside experts and sophisticated users,
    reducing the chance of undetected bugs or hidden security compromises. 
    
    The software has been in development for several years.  It has been
    funded by several philanthropists interested in increased privacy on the
    Internet, including John Gilmore, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier
    Foundation, a leading online civil rights group. 
    
    Press contacts:
    Hugh Daniel,   +1 408 353 8124, hughat_private
    Henry Spencer, +1 416 690 6561, henryat_private
    
    * FreeS/WAN derives its name from S/WAN, which is a trademark of RSA Data
      Security, Inc; used by permission.
    
    	-30-
    
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