Length of Triple DES algorithm

[Marc VanHeyningen]

> Hello Jan,
>
> > what's the current story about French crypto import laws? I've heard that
> > they limit domestic use to 128-bits (true?). Does that make 3DES ok
> > (the lower limit being 2^112 in complexity for 3 different keys), or not
> > ok (as it is "officially" 168-bit)?

> I'll let a FRench lawyer to give the definitive answer, but, the trick
> is that any alg <=128 bits is automatically granted domestic usage
> upon the deposit of a lot of paper while the rest requires more
> paperwork and meetings. But, for insistance, Cisco 3DES has been
> approved by the French organizationin charge of granted license.

That's consistent with my understanding; I do not believe they accept
"but triple-DES is really only 112 bits, not 168" as an argument.  One
wonders where this 128 bit distinction comes from.

--
Marc VanHeyningen                 marcvh at aventail.com
Internet Security Architect
Aventail                          http://www.aventail.com/

VPN is sponsored by SecurityFocus.COM