Companies not wanting to provide encryption codes can't sell to Chinese government
There
are many security companies that provide a wealth of products from
security software to portable hard drives that use encryption to
protect the data. The key to keeping the data secure on the drives is
the security of the encryption keys.
These keys are often the
same for all of their products no matter what country they are sold
in. That would mean a security key given to a foreign government
could potentially be used to decrypt data that a competitor in
another country has stored. The Chinese government has demanded that
security companies provide it with the encryption codes used to
protect the data on devices they sell to the Chinese
government.
When these rules were initially announced, the
keys were being demanded on all products that were being sold to
anyone in China. The U.S. government and other officials in Europe
stepped in and put enough pressure on China that the rules were
modified to cover only products sold to the government. The rules are
now in effect and some are still crying foul. The rules went
into effect on May 1 and cover products including the follow
reports DefenseTech:
- Firewalls
(hardware & software) but it does not apply to personal firewalls
- Network
security separation cards and line selectors
- Security
isolation and information exchange products
- Secure
network routers
- Chip
operating systems (COS)
- Data
backup and recovery products
- Secure
operating systems
- Secure
database systems
- Anti-spam
products
- Intrusion
detection systems
- Network
vulnerability scanning products
- Security
auditing products
- Web
site recovery products
The
fear with providing China with the encryption codes is that if the
same products are used in other countries it opens the data up to
possible hacking by China. China was the origin of high
profile attacks
against Google late in 2009. Christopher Cloutier from law
firm King & Spalding told ComputerWorld that
the requirement for the encryption codes to be handed over was
to certify
products to the China Compulsory Certification System (CCC)
mark. The CCC mark certifies that products sold in China meet a
certain standard.
However, Cloutier said, "If I were a
foreign-based producer of products with encryption, I would be very
reluctant to give all my secrets to the government of China." He
continued, "So now they [Chinese government] have an excuse to
buy only Chinese-origin technologies."
The choice
for companies that operate globally will be if they want to turn over
encryption codes to China, allowing them to sell to the Chinese
government. On the other hand, if they want to do business in other
parts of the world where buyers might be scared away from their
products with the Chinese government having access to the encryption
codes.
Cloutier said, "Let's say you make a particular
product and you have encryption in it and you sell it to the
government of China. If you sell to the government of China you've
got to tell them how the stuff works."
Selling
any device using encryption once the encryption codes are known to
any government is hard to do to firms interested in data security.
"Game reviewers fought each other to write the most glowing coverage possible for the powerhouse Sony, MS systems. Reviewers flipped coins to see who would review the Nintendo Wii. The losers got stuck with the job." -- Andy Marken
|
Most Popular ArticlesQuick Note: Verizon Wireless Clarifies Stance on Unlimited LTE Data
May 18, 2012, 8:08 AM
HTC Implements Workaround to Apple's Patent for Evo 4G LTE, One X
May 17, 2012, 4:35 PM
DDOS Attack Cripples The Pirate Bay
May 16, 2012, 1:42 PM
Game Over? Apple's Bid to Kill HTC Nears Fruition as ITC Blocks Imports
May 16, 2012, 11:35 AM
Verizon Wireless to Kill Unlimited LTE Data, Even for Grandfathered Users
May 16, 2012, 4:25 PM
|
