[92692] in Cypherpunks
Re: Comparing PGP to Symantec's Secret Stuff
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bruce Schneier)
Mon Jan 5 22:28:32 1998
Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 20:59:09 -0600
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
From: Bruce Schneier <schneier@counterpane.com>
In-Reply-To: <199801060134.RAA03824@comsec.com>
Reply-To: Bruce Schneier <schneier@counterpane.com>
At 08:56 PM 12/16/97 -0800, Bill Frantz wrote:
>At 3:01 AM -0800 12/16/97, Vin McLellan wrote:
>> Norton Secret Stuff secures the data using the 32-bit Blowfish
>>encryption algorithm -- which is why it's approved for unrestricted export
>>outside the US by the U.S. government.
>
>This is the first I've heard of a Blowfish based produce being approved for
>export. Since Blowfish has about 9 bits worth of protection against brute
>force searches in its key schedule, this is about a 41 bit approval. Does
>anyone know of an export permit for a version of Blowfish with a key longer
>than 32 bits?
Blowfish with a 32-bit key has been approved for export before. The
argument is that the long key setup time makes 32-bit Blowfish as weak
as 40-bit anything else. I don't particularly agree, but there you have it.
Bruce
**********************************************************************
Bruce Schneier, President, Counterpane Systems Phone: 612-823-1098
101 E Minnehaha Parkway, Minneapolis,MN 55419 Fax: 612-823-1590
http://www.counterpane.com
