Export redux

Eli Biham, the famous cryptographer who works from Haifa, Israel, can't send me software that verifies certain security properties of the Serpent encryption algorithm, because the DTI consider it would violate UK export controls.

Yes, you read that right.

> Following a discussion on sci.crypt, I was wondering if you'd consider
> sharing the software you used to show that Serpent has no differential
> or linear trails better than the bounds given in Table 1 of the paper,
> so that this result can be independently verified?

Paul

The DTI are now maintaining that, following some regulations they made
under the European Communities Act and didn't tell anyone about at the
time, the intangible export of dual-use list items from the UK is
illegal. Their definition of export includes not just me sending
anything to you (since you might then give it to a foreigner) but
also Lars or Eli sending something to you (for the same reason). Import
is export, war is love, big brother is watching you.

http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/exportbill.html