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In article <168C413C13.UC445585@mizzou1.missouri.edu> UC445585@mizzou1.missouri.edu (John M. Kelsey) writes:
>   Why did PGP change from bassomatic to IDEA?  Where can I find references
>to IDEA?  (It's Swiss?)
I assume they changed to it, because it's _not_ DES :-) , has a 128-bit
key, and is 'a little bit' faster than e.g. DES.

It is swiss.

PGP says:
The IPES/IDEA block cipher was developed at ETH in Zurich by James L.
Massey and Xuejia Lai, and published in 1990.  
Early published papers on
the algorithm called it IPES (Improved Proposed Encryption Standard),
but they later changed the name to IDEA (International Data
Encryption Algorithm).

Idea Sources say:
The IDEA(tm) block cipher is covered by a patent held by ETH and a
Swiss company called Ascom-Tech AG.  The Swiss patent number is
PCT/CH91/00117.  International patents are pending. IDEA(tm) is a
trademark of Ascom-Tech AG.  There is no license fee required for
noncommercial use.  Commercial users may obtain licensing details
from Dieter Profos, Ascom Tech AG, Solothurn Lab, Postfach 151, 4502
Solothurn, Switzerland, Tel +41 65 242885, Fax +41 65 235761.

For further information on the IDEA cipher, see these papers:
1) Xuejia Lai, "Detailed Description and a Software Implementation of 
   the IPES Cipher", Institute for Signal and Information
   Processing, ETH-Zentrum, Zurich, Switzerland, 1991
2) Xuejia Lai, James L. Massey, Sean Murphy, "Markov Ciphers and 
   Differential Cryptanalysis", Advances in Cryptology- EUROCRYPT'91

I hope this helps you, if You __really__ need 1) as paper-mail, send
me a mail.

Friendly greetings,
	/Gec
-- 
Instruments register only through things they're designed to register.
Space still contains infinite unknowns.

Germano Caronni    caronni@nessie.cs.id.ethz.ch