🚀 go-pugleaf

> Is it under the same restrictions RSA is? If the algorithm is freely
> usable, and it's provably as secure as RSA, I'm amazed that someone
> hasn't implemented and distributed it widely.

The entire notion of public-key cryptography is subject to patents
held by Public Key Partners, a sister company of RSA Data Security.
The patent laws grant them a monopoly on all use of the technology
until the patents expire in 1997 and 2000.  No one has challenged the
patents or is likely to, as far as I know.

A partial list of related technology that's been seen on the Internet is:

  rpem, by Mark Riordan.  Based on Rabin encryption (square roots modulo pq).
      Mark stopped distributing it after RSADSI lawyers sent him a warning 
      that he was violating their patents.

PGP, by Phil Zimmermann, prz@sage.cgd.ucar.edu.  RSA-based, originally
      for PC with ports to Unix.  Not approved by RSADSI; OK to distribute
      internationally but probably illegal to use in the USA or export from
      the USA.

  ripem, by Mark Riordan.  RSA-based, Unix.  Uses RSAREF and is distributed
      free with the blessing of RSADSI (subject to the RSAREF license
      agreement with RSADSI, which each user must electronically agree to).
      Legal in USA for personal use; legal outside USA for any use; illegal 
      transport from within USA to outside USA.  To get it, send mail to
      mrr@scss3.cl.msu.edu.

  PEM, by a consortium of companies including RSADSI.  RSA-based, Unix + ?.
      A proposed standard for privacy-enhanced mail on the Internet, a couple
      of years behind schedule.  Will probably appear within the next year or
      two.  Most of the complexity deals with the public key certification
      hierarchy, which none of the earlier public-domain systems deal with at
      all.

I am hoping to see some more discussion of innovative uses of public
key technology; privacy-enhanced mail is just the tip of the iceberg.
We must think about what we want, so we know what to ask for!


[ Marc Ringuette | Cranberry Melon University, Cucumber Science Department  ]
[ mnr@cs.cmu.edu | 412-268-3728 |      ".surivorter erutangis a ma I"       ]