The US government has granted Worldtalk Corp a licence to export WorldSecure Server and Client with 128-bit encryption to banks and financial institutions throughout most of the world.
WorldSecure, with strong 128-bit encryption, allows banks and financial institutions to take advantage of strong protection for their data and information assets when communicating via Internet e-mail over private and public networks.
Prior to the announcement, Worldtalk had been restricted, by the terms of a prior licence, to exporting strong 128-bit encryption to foreign subsidiaries at least 25% US-owned. This announcement marks a milestone for the industry as banks and financial institutions internationally can leverage WorldSecure Server and Client to protect confidential and sensitive communications using strong encryption combined with e-mail security countermeasures.
"For banks and financial institutions, electronic communications is a primary business tool for communicating with trading partners and customers over the Internet," says Dave Terespolsky, MD of local distributor Server Tools. "As the leader in e-mail security, Worldtalk is providing strong encryption for e-mail applications which will help prevent forgery, tampering and snooping of e-mail messages and help organisations improve the privacy and security of customers` information."
Foreign banks have the same security requirements as US banks, and the licence will help reduce corporate liability, ensure compliance with industry and government regulations, and protect the confidentiality and integrity of documents sent over Internet e-mail.
Encryption and key length
On September 16, the Clinton administration announced a liberalised encryption export control policy. The policy was implemented as to banks and financial institutions by regulations issued on September 22, which allow US vendors to ship strong encryption software to foreign banks and financial institutions. The banking regulations permit exports under License Exception "KMI" to 44 listed countries or under an Encryption Licensing Arrangement to virtually all countries.
The strength of encryption is largely a function of the length of the software keys measured in bits. The larger the key size, the more difficult it becomes for a person with malicious intent to decrypt communications through hacking or other methods. A message encrypted with 56-bit WorldSecure software represents 65 536 times more possible keys than 40-bit technology. There are one trillion possible keys for 40-bit encryption and 72 quadrillion keys for 56-bit technology. A message encrypted with 128-bit WorldSecure software is 309 489 009 821 345 068 724 781 056 times more difficult to break than a message encrypted using 40-bit technology.
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