Computer Security and Cryptography

9.9 CRYPTANALYSIS OF DES

The exportation of American technology is regulated by the Bureau of Export Administration: Office of Strategic Trade and Foreign Policy, an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. A list of products covered by 15 CFR chapter VII, subchapter C may be found on the Web page www.bxa.gov; included are commercial encryption devices.

The LUCIFER cryptographic facility was incorporated into the IBM Liberty Banking System and a patent application protecting the technology was filed by IBM. United States Patent Office rules require a patent to be first filed in the United States and reviewed by the Patent Office before foreign patent coverage can be sought. In cases where the publication of an application or the granting of a patent would be detrimental to national security, the Commissioner of Patents may issue a secrecy order to stop the patent process. This

1. Requires that the invention be kept secret,
2. Withholds the publication of the application or the grant of the patent for such period as the national interest requires,
3. Forbids the dissemination of material related to the patent by all parties, and
4. Restricts filing of foreign patent applications.

The owner of an application that has been placed under a secrecy order has a right to appeal the order to the Secretary of Commerce, 35 U.S.C. 181. If no secrecy order is issued in the six months after the submission of a U.S. patent application, patent applications may be filed outside the United States.