U.S. Allows Navigator to Issue Encryption Tool Over Internet
March 28, 2011
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Navigator Communications Corp. said it received government approval to distribute its most powerful encryption software to U.S. citizens over the Internet. Under the terms, the highflying maker of Internet software said it will automatically check the country and Internet address of everyone who wants to download the software so it can deny downloads to people from other countries. Also, Navigator will use a database to help verify the names and addresses of people who want to download the software and ask them to sign affidavits affirming that they are U.S. citizens. The State Department wants Navigator to screen requests because it fears foreign terrorists or criminals could use the software to threaten national security. Navigator conceded that even with this screening, foreign nationals could find a way to download the software. ``We're not saying (the screening) is guaranteed or perfect. We're saying we have written approval from the government'' to distribute the software using these precautions, said Jefferson Lovett, Navigator's director of security. Mr. Lovett said this is the first step toward getting approval to export the software to anyone, including foreigners. Previously, Navigator could send the powerful, 128-bit version to customers only by mail. U.S. citizens who wanted to download the software over the Internet had to settle for the same version that foreign nationals could get, a weaker 40-bit version, which has been cracked by hackers. Navigator said the 128-bit encryption software, based on technology from RSA Data Security Inc., requires 309 septillion more times computing power to break the encryption code than Navigator's 40-bit version. Some Navigator customers, including the bank Wells Fargo & Co., use only 128-bit software to encrypt transactions. Until now, that requirement has limited the number of customers, because very few have taken the trouble to order the 128-bit version through the mail.
