🚀 go-pugleaf

The following is excerpted from the January, 1987 issue of
_Radio-Electronics_, and as an example of the U.S. government's
bass-ackward approach to secrecy, I feel this is almost unparalelled.

--- Excerpt begins ---

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And it finally happened: _Videocipher_has_been_busted_.


DES and M/A-Com

  _Videocipher_II_ is protected by numerous U.S. laws.  It uses the
DES encryption system that, until April 22, 1987, may be protected
from unauthorized busting by the National Security Agency.  NSA is
responsible for the security and integrity of the DES code, and uses
it to transmit less-than-top-secret messages to military and embassy
locations world-wide.  In the M/A-Com view, anyone who tampers with
DES or attempts to profit from decoding it is guilty of treason
against the U.S. government.  Obviously, charges of treason are not to
be taken lightly.
  Nonetheless, perhaps as many as several dozen persons or groups
have, independent of one another, cracked _Videocipher_II_ and we have
seen systems in operation.  Their problem now concerns what they
should do their knowledge.
  Anyone who attempted to sell "Blackcipher" boxes _inside_ the U.S.
would immediately be charged with several federal offenses, possibly
including treason.  M/A-Com warns _Videocipher_II_ distributors that
the act of shipping a VC2000 satellite descrambler outside the U.S.
may be construed as an act of treason, because U.S. laws state that
exporting a DES decoder is illegal and that it is "an act against the
state."  In spite of that, however, between 25% and 30% of all
_Videocipher_II_ units sold by M/A-Com to date have been exported,
primarily to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.
  A study of the law suggests that, although it may be illegal to
export the _Videocipher_II_ units, and that it is illegal to build and
sell DES-decoding "Blackcipher" boxes inside the U.S., it is not
illegal to design, manufacture, distribute, and use "Blackcipher"
boxes outside the U.S., provided they never enter this [Ed: he means
the U.S.] country and that they are sold and used in countries which
have no security or patent treaties with the U.S.
  What's happening now is that, quietly, in small backwater locations
where U.S. zip codes do not apply, people are using their specialized
knowledge to build and sell devices that defeat _Videocipher_II_
scrambling technology.  The device costs between $800 and $1,200
(U.S.), which, on the surface may seem high, but which could actually
turn out to be a bargain.  The reason is that even a handful of
scrambled programming sources could cost $50 per month in the U.S.  A
box that decodes all _Videocipher_II_-scrambled signals provides more
than $100 in monthly programming services.  At $1,000 for the box, in
six months the box will pay for itself.  [Ed: The M/A-Com box costs
~$400 U.S.]
  Inevitably, some of those "Blackcipher" units will find their way
back into the U.S. where there are more than 1.5 million buyers of the
offshore system.  Undoubtedly, there are firms and persons who will
seek to import those devices into the U.S. on a clandestine basis, or
who will attempt to build and market similar units from inside the
U.S.
  Doing so could be risky, however.  Offenders could be fined upwards
of $250,000 or sentenced to jail for 10 years - without considering
possible charges of treason!  So be warned that, although it may
indeed be legal for someone in Aruba or St. Kitts to build, sell, and
use such a decoder, it is clearly illegal to do so here [Ed: there] in
the United States.
  The reason scrambling came into being is greed: greed on the part of
the producers of _Videocipher_II_, and greed on the part of the cable
programmers.  Because both the descrambler and the monthly programming
charges were priced too high, entrepreneurs who possess the ability to
decode _Videocipher_II_ have been attracted to the marketplace.
  Such a situation cannot endure in its present form, of course.
There is a lesson here that, hopefully, future generations of
scrambler builders will consider carefully _before_ bringing their
creations to market.

--- Article ends ---


I don't think further comment is necessary.  Oy, vey!

	-Colin Plumb (ccplumb@watnot.UUCP)

Zippy says:
Maybe we could paint GOLDIE HAWN a rich PRUSSIAN BLUE--