authentication, then signed digital documents can be exchanged between users in different nations using different software on different platforms; this interoperability is necessary for
Trang 1authentication, then signed digital documents can be exchanged between users
in different nations using different software on different platforms; this
interoperability is necessary for a true digital economy to develop
The lack of secure authentication has been a major obstacle in achieving
the promise that computers would replace paper; paper is still necessary
almost everywhere for contracts, checks, official letters, legal documents, and identification With this core of necessary paper transaction, it has not been feasible to evolve completely into a society based on electronic
transactions Digital signatures are the exact tool necessary to convert
the most essential paper-based documents to digital electronic media
Digital signatures makes it possible, for example, to have leases, wills,
passports, college transcripts, checks, and voter registration forms that
exist only in electronic form; any paper version would just be a ``copy''
of the electronic original All of this is enabled by an accepted standard
for digital signatures
2.19 Is RSA patented?
RSA is patented under U.S Patent 4,405,829, issued 9/20/83 and held by
Public Key Partners (PKP), of Sunnyvale, California; the patent expires 17 years after issue, in 2000 RSA is usually licensed together with other
public-key cryptography patents (see Question 1.5) PKP has a standard,
royalty-based licensing policy which can be modified for special
circumstances If a software vendor, having licensed the public-key patents, incorporates RSA into a commercial product, then anyone who purchases the end product has the legal right to use RSA within the context of that
software The U.S government can use RSA without a license because it was invented at MIT with partial government funding RSA is not patented outside North America
In North America, a license is needed to ``make, use or sell'' RSA However, PKP usually allows free non-commercial use of RSA, with written permission, for personal, academic or intellectual reasons Furthermore, RSA
Laboratories has made available (in the U.S and Canada) at no charge a
collection of cryptographic routines in source code, including the RSA
algorithm; it can be used, improved and redistributed non-commercially
(see Question 8.10)
Trang 22.20 Can RSA be exported from the U.S.?
Export of RSA falls under the same U.S laws as all other cryptographic products See Question 1.6 for details
RSA used for authentication is more easily exported than when used for privacy In the former case, export is allowed regardless of key (modulus) size, although the exporter must demonstrate that the product cannot be easily converted to use for encryption In the case of RSA used for
privacy (encryption), the U.S government generally does not allow
export if the key size exceeds 512 bits Export policy is currently a
subject of debate, and the export status of RSA may well change in the next year or two
Regardless of U.S export policy, RSA is available abroad in non-U.S products
-
RSA Laboratories is the research and consultation division of RSA Data Security, Inc., the company founded by the inventors of the RSA
public-key cryptosystem RSA Laboratories reviews, designs and
implements secure and efficient cryptosystems of all kinds Its
clients include government agencies, telecommunications companies, computer manufacturers, software developers, cable TV broadcasters, interactive video manufacturers, and satellite broadcast companies,
among others
For more information about RSA Laboratories, call or write to
RSA Laboratories
100 Marine Parkway
Redwood City, CA 94065
(415) 595-7703
(415) 595-4126 (fax)
PKCS, RSAREF and RSA Laboratories are trademarks of RSA Data
Trang 3Security, Inc All other trademarks belong to their respective
companies
This document is available in ASCII, Postscript, and Latex formats
via anonymous FTP to rsa.com:/pub/faq
Please send comments and corrections to faq-editor@rsa.com
===
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From netcom.com!ix.netcom.com!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!faqserv Sun Jun 11 10:50:40 1995 Xref: netcom.com sci.crypt:37592 talk.politics.crypto:10205
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From: faq-editor@rsa.com
Newsgroups:
sci.crypt,talk.politics.crypto,alt.security.ripem,sci.answers,talk.answers,alt.answers ,news.answers
Subject: RSA Cryptography Today FAQ (2/3)
Supersedes: <cryptography-faq/rsa/part2_799598431@rtfm.mit.edu>
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Date: 26 May 1995 10:39:07 GMT
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