From: iw@all.net
Subject: IW Mailing List iw/960108
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[Moderator's Note: Where do we draw the line between economic warfare and
information warfare?  As we move toward an information-based economy, the
line becomes fuzzier.  How do we balance the loss of revenue against the
loss of IW and law enforcement capability?]

From: dang@netcom.com (DRG)
Subject: Encryption sales ban costs U.S. $60 billion
Date: Sun, 7 Jan 1996 21:40:31 -0800 (PST)

...
S.F. Examiner: ENCRYPTION SALES BAN COSTS U.S. $60 BILLION

NEW YORK U.S.  companies will lose as much as 30 percent of the $200
billion in U.S.  computer system sales expected in 2000 because of
federal export laws that limit the encryption of information, a recent
study found. 

The study was sponsored by 13 large U.S.  technology companies.  The
group, known as the Computer Systems Policy Project, includes
International Business Machines Corp., the world's largest computer
maker, and AT&T corp., the nation's biggest phone company. 

"It's the first time anyone has set out to show the real economic impact
export laws have," said Jeff Rulifson, director of technology
development as Sun Microsystems Inc., one of the study's sponsors. 

The government prevents U.S.  companies from exporting hard-to-break
computer codes that turn information, such as files and credit card
numbers, into indecipherable material that can be sent across computer
networks without fear of tampering. 
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