------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Feb 1994 18:04:32 -0500 (EST) From: "Shabbir J. Safdar" Subject: File 8--Letter to Rep. Molinari (R-Brooklyn) Please find enclosed my letter to Rep. Molinari (R-NY). Rep. Cantwell's bill would liberalize cryptographic exports, encouraging the production of stronger crypto software by US firms. This would result in stronger cryptography in products for ordinary people such as you and I. What can you do? Help get your NY or NJ rep. to cosponsor HR 3627. Commit to writing your rep. It's so easy! You didn't buy that fax modem for nothing! If you don't have a fax modem, you've got a phone or a stamp. Want to help? Send me your rep's name as a commitment that you will write to them. OR, send me your zip code or your nearest city. I will email you with a letter of who your rep is if you don't know it. (I just got a new book with district maps) Alternatively you can just call the League of Women Voters (phone number below) -Shabbir shabbir@panix.com The Honorable Representative Susan Molinari Thirteenth District 123 Cannon Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Representative Molinari, Recently Rep. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced HR 3627. I am writing you to urge you to co-sponsor it. This bill would lift the outdated restrictions on export of cryptographic technology. As you may already know, it is illegal for an American business to produce hardware products, such as software to encrypt electronic mail or hardware to encrypt private telephone conversations, and then ship it to markets outside the United States. Such technology is available outside the United States already. In fact, many US businesses purchase their equipment from companies outside the US because they cannot obtain the equivalent products for their offices worldwide from US distributors. As you can imagine, such regulations hurt the global competitiveness of US technology firms. Furthermore, US citizens cannot easily purchase privacy-enhancing products because they are not available from US firms. This results in a lack of privacy for US citizens and consumers. Instead of developing products that incorporate strong privacy-enhancing cryptographic technology, US firms are forced to either develop two separate products (one for US use, and one for international use), or to simply develop a single product with sub-standard privacy-enhancing cryptographic technology. These products cannot compete in the global marketplace with products produced in other countries that do not have cryptographic export restrictions. Rep. Cantwells bill would allow US firms to compete alongside other international firms in the area of privacy-enhancing technology. Also, by creating a larger market for US firms, better privacy-enhancing products will be available for purchase by US citizens. Products such as encrypting cellular telephones are long overdue; we have seen way too many examples of overheard cellular conversations tape-recorded by radio-voyeurs. As the press publicizes more examples of the security problems on the Internet, it becomes more apparent that US Citizens need to be able to purchase software to encrypt their electronic mail. Wouldn't it be better for Americans to use American-written privacy software? In closing, let me urge you to take a moment to read this analysis that I am enclosing, and join your colleagues (such as Donald Manzullo R-IL) in co-sponsoring HR 3627. Thank you for your time, Shabbir J. Safdar 115 Pacific St, #3 Brooklyn, NY 11201 ------------------------------ ************************************************************************* ***** End of Computer Underground Digest #6.19 ***** *************************************************************************