Re: Definition of Military / Government grade ciphers

From: Sean Dougall (sean_at_space-pirates_HATE_SPAM.org)
Date: 05/29/03 

Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 22:17:42 -0400

majikcypher wrote:
> Most of the different ciphers I use to encrypt my files are labeled as
> "Military Grade" or "government Strength". But exactly what does this
> mean (and NO i don't mean do they USE the type of encryption because
> that is sort of obvious and I know that it means that it passes their
> little test of how good it should be but I want to know exactly how
> good it has to be to be given this name)? Also what do you think are
> the strongest algorithms (publicly). I like Blowfish and Rijndael.

Here's a theory I'd tend to trust...

"Many crypto vendors claim their system is ``military grade.'' This is a
meaningless term, since there isn't a standard that defines ``military
grade,'' other than actually being used by various armed forces. Since
these organizations don't reveal what crypto they use, it isn't possible
to prove or disprove that something is ``military grade.''

"Unfortunately, some good crypto products also use this term. Watch for
this in combination with other snake oil indicators, e.g., ``our
military-grade encryption system is exportable from the US!'' "

(Source: http://www.interhack.net/people/cmcurtin/snake-oil-faq.html)

Sean Dougall

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