Mass Market Encryption|Rules Issued by Commerce

WASHINGTON (CN) - The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security has modified the requirements of a license exception regarding encryption, and the requirements for qualifying an encryption item for the mass market.

Regarding encryption products of lesser national security concern, this rule replaces the requirement to wait 30 days for a technical review before exporting the products and the requirement to file semi-annual post-export sales and distribution reports with a provision that allows immediate authorization to export and re-export these products after electronic submission to the agency of an encryption registration. A condition of this new authorization for less sensitive products is submission of an annual self-classification report on these commodities and software exported under the license exception.

Regarding most mass market encryption products, the wait of 30 days for a technical review with a provision that allows immediate authorization to export and re-export these products after electronic submission to the agency of an encryption registration, subject to annual self-classification reporting for exported encryption products.

This rule also eases licensing requirements for the export and re-export of many types of technology necessary for the development and use of encryption products, except to countries subject to export or re-export license requirements for national security reasons or anti-terrorism reasons, or subject to embargo or sanctions.

In addition, this rule removes the requirement to file separate encryption classification requests with both the agency and the ENC Encryption Request Coordinator. This rule also adds a note excluding particular products that use cryptography from being controlled as "information security" items. The addition of this note focuses "information security" controls on the use of encryption for computing, communications, networking and information security. This note implements agreements made by the Wassenaar Arrangement at the plenary meeting in December 2009.

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