Re: DES module in kernel?

Theodore Y. Ts'o (tytso@mit.edu)
Thu, 18 Mar 1999 17:14:02 -0500 (EST)


Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 07:57:48 -0800 (PST)
From: Mike Eisler <mre@eng.sun.com>

That's the exact same README that is in the download from MIT. The bits
are exactly the same. Someone is regularly donwloading this code
from MIT and exporting it, apparently illegally, to the UK. That
shouldn't be a suprise.

For all I know, someone may have gotten an official source export
license from the Department of Commerce. I'd be surprised, but I don't
*know* one way or another whether it was exported illegally. The
current MIT Copyright statement states that it is the responsibility of
any person or organization contemplating export to obtain any possibly
necessary export license before exporting.

It you feel obligated to follow supranational U.S. law, you may. Others who
feel differently (such as the maintainer of the ftp site) may not. It's a
choice you have, though as a U.S. resident, not one that I have.

Whatever my personal feelings about how silly and/or stupid current
U.S. laws may be (and you may be sure that I communicate to my
Congresscritters about this from time to time)....

Officially, however, I cannot condone someone who might have illegally
smuggled what the U.S. government considers munitions outside of the
U.S., and I certainly can't encourage folks to break U.S. laws, lest I
get in trouble with the U.S. government myself. So I very much hope
that whoever is putting the Kerberos distribution had first managed to
get an official export license (if necessary) from any relevant
U.S. government agencies.

- Ted

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