FWD: Exportable RIPEM/SIG Available

[Christopher Allen <consensus@netcom.com>]

I thought the readers of cyperpunks might find the following of interest.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
..Christopher Allen                  Consensus Development Corporation..
..<consensus@netcom.com>                         4104-24th Street #419..
..                                        San Francisco, CA 94114-3615..
..                                        o415/647-6383  f415/647-6384..
..Mosaic/World-Wide-Web Front Door:                                   ..
..ftp://netcom7.netcom.com/pub/consensus/www/ConsensusFrontDoor.html  ..


Date: 15 Mar 1994 14:55:01 GMT
From: mrr@scss3.cl.msu.edu (Mark Riordan)
Subject: Exportable RIPEM/SIG Available
Organization: Michigan State University
Summary: Free Signature-only version of RIPEM

Announcing the availability of RIPEM/SIG, an exportable signature-only
version of RIPEM, a public-key encryption program.

RIPEM/SIG is a version of RIPEM 1.2 with encryption and decryption
taken out.  RSA Data Security has obtained a US State Department
Commodities Jurisdiction ruling determining that RIPEM/SIG is
exportable from the USA.  At this writing, RIPEM/SIG is undergoing
a classification to determine what countries it may not
be exported to.  (Worst case is that RIPEM/SIG may not be exported
to such countries as Libya, Iraq, and North Korea.)

While this ruling certainly does not fully address the strong concerns
of myself and many others regarding the USA's overly restrictive
export laws, it does ease things a bit for individuals wishing to
exchange authenticated messages across international borders.

RSA Data Security has granted a free license to users worldwide
of RIPEM/SIG to use the software for any purposes other than
direct commercial services.  (I.e., selling the software itself or
selling a service directly based on the program's functions.)
It is allowable to make use of the software at a commercial
location or on commercial computer systems.   Use for personal
communication, or even corporate communications, is permitted.
These rights will be clarified in a new RSAREF license and new
RSA software, to be available in a few weeks.  For a license to
use RIPEM/SIG to deliver commercial services, contact RSA Data
Security for terms.

It is believed that RIPEM/SIG is the only US-exportable signature
software in the world available for free to US users.
(Non-US users are not bound by RSADSI's US patents, but would
be bound by copyright laws.)

RIPEM/SIG is built from RIPEM 1.2a sources; thus, RIPEM/SIG
source code is not exportable.  The executables are exportable.
I have compiled RIPEM/SIG for several popular architectures
and have placed the executables on ripem.msu.edu, available
for anonymous FTP from /pub/crypt/ripem/ripemsig/binaries.
Other USA and Canada citizens are welcome to obtain the RIPEM 1.2a
source distribution and create and export executables for
other platforms.

I also wish to announce the availability of RIPEM 1.2a.
There were no algorithic changes between 1.2 and 1.2a;
simply code changes to create RIPEM/SIG and to accomodate
some brain-dead C compilers.

RIPEM is available via non-anonymous FTP from ripem.msu.edu.
See the file GETTING_ACCESS to get an account.
RIPEM/SIG is, as mentioned above, available from the same site
via anonymous FTP.

Mark Riordan