There is an amendment to HR 850, pending before the US Congress, having to
do with encryption controls. Not being experienced with how these things
get reported, I'm curious as to whether the part about creating the
'National Electronic Technologies Center' also known as the 'NET Center',
is still in the bill, or was that old language that the new part replaced?
'Reverse steganography' is one of the research aims for the so-called NET
Center....
-------------------------- Text in question: --------------------
Part A of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Organization Act is amended by inserting after section 105 (47 U.S.C. 904)
the following new section:
"SEC. 106. NATIONAL ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES CENTER.
"(a) Establishment. There is established in the NTIA a National
Electronic Technologies Center (in this section referred to as the 'NET
Center').
"(b) Director. The NET Center shall have a Director, who shall be
appointed by the Assistant Secretary.
"(c) Duties. The duties of the NET Center shall be--
"(1) to serve as a center for industry and government
entities to exchange information and methodology regarding data
security techniques and technologies;
"(2) to examine encryption techniques and methods to
facilitate the ability of law enforcement to gain efficient access
to
plaintext of communications and electronic information;
"(3) to conduct research to develop efficient methods, and
improve the efficiency of existing methods, of accessing plaintext
of
communications and electronic information;
"(4) to investigate and research new and emerging techniques
and technologies to facilitate access to communications and
electronic
information, including --
"(A) reverse-steganography;
"(B) decompression of information that previously has been compressed
for transmission; and
"(C) de-multiplexing;
"(5) to obtain information regarding the most current
computer hardware and software, telecommunications, and other
capabilities to understand how to access information transmitted
across computer and communications networks; and
"(6) to serve as a center for Federal, State, and local law
enforcement authorities for information and assistance regarding
decryption and other access requirements.
"(d) Equal Access. State and local law enforcement agencies and
authorities shall have access to information, services, resources, and
assistance provided by the NET Center to the same extent that Federal law
enforcement agencies and authorities have such access.
"(e) Personnel. The Director may appoint such personnel as the Director
considers appropriate to carry out the duties of the NET Center.
"(f) Assistance of Other Federal Agencies. Upon the request of the
Director of the NET Center, the head of any department or agency of the
Federal Government may, to assist the NET Center in carrying out its
duties
under this section--
"(1) detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of
such department or agency to the NET Center; and
"(2) provide to the NET Center facilities, information, and
other non-personnel resources.
"(g) Private Industry Assistance. The NET Center may accept, use, and
dispose of gifts, bequests, or devises of money, services, or property,
both
real and personal, for the purpose of aiding or facilitating the work of
the
Center. Gifts, bequests, or devises of money and proceeds from sales of
other property received as gifts, bequests, or devises shall be deposited
in
the Treasury and shall be available for disbursement upon order of the
Director of the NET Center.
"(h) Advisory Board.
"(1) Establishment. There is established the Advisory Board
of the NET Center (in this subsection referred to as the "Advisory
Board"), which shall be comprised of 11 members who shall have the
qualifications described in paragraph (2) and who shall be appointed
by the Assistant Secretary not later than 6 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act. The chairman of the Advisory Board shall
be
designated by the Assistant Secretary at the time of appointment.
"(2) Qualifications. Each member of the Advisory Board shall
have experience or expertise in the field of encryption, decryption,
electronic communication, information security, electronic commerce,
or law enforcement.
"(3) Duties. The duty of the Advisory Board shall be to
advise the NET Center and the Federal Government regarding new and
emerging technologies relating to encryption and decryption of
communications and electronic information.
"(i) Implementation Plan. Within 2 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation and
cooperation with other appropriate Federal agencies and appropriate
industry
participants, develop and cause to be published in the Federal Register a
plan for establishing the NET Center. The plan shall--
"(1) specify the physical location of the NET Center and the
equipment, software, and personnel resources necessary to carry out
the duties of the NET Center under this section;
"(2) assess the amount of funding necessary to establish and
operate the NET Center; and
"(3) identify sources of probable funding for the NET Center,
including any sources of in-kind contributions from private
industry.".
