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Interactive EAR

Chapter VII

Supplement No. 6 to Part 742—Technical Questionnaire for Encryption and Other “Information Security” Items

This version is the current regulation | Last updated: December 18, 2024

(a) For all items:

(1) State the name(s) of each product being submitted for classification or other consideration (as a result of a request by BIS) and provide a brief non-technical description of the type of product (e.g., routers, disk drives, cell phones, and chips) being submitted, and provide brochures, data sheets, technical specifications or other information that describes the item(s).

(2) Indicate whether there have been any prior classifications of the product(s), if they are applicable to the current submission. For products with minor changes in encryption functionality, you must include a cover sheet with complete reference to the previous review (Commodity Classification Automated Tracking System (CCATS) number, Export Control Classification Number (ECCN ), authorization paragraph) along with a clear description of the changes.

(3) Describe how encryption is used in the product and the categories of encrypted data (e.g., stored data, communications, management data, and internal data).

(4) For ‘mass market’ encryption products, describe specifically to whom and how the product is being marketed and state how this method of marketing and other relevant information (e.g., cost of product and volume of sales) are described by the Cryptography Note (Note 3 to Category 5, Part 2).

(5) Is any “encryption source code” being provided (shipped or bundled) as part of this offering? If yes, is this source code publicly available source code, unchanged from the code obtained from an open source Web site, or is it proprietary “encryption source code?”

(b) For classification requests and other submissions, provide the following information

(1) Description of all the symmetric and asymmetric encryption algorithms and key lengths and how the algorithms are used, including relevant parameters, inputs and settings. Specify which encryption modes are supported (e.g., cipher feedback mode or cipher block chaining mode).

(2) Describe how encryption keys are generated or managed by your product, including algorithms and modulus sizes supported.

(3) Describe whether the products incorporate or use “non-standard cryptography” defined as incorporating or using proprietary, unpublished cryptographic functionality, including encryption algorithms or protocols that have not been adopted or approved by a duly recognized international standards body. Provide a textual description and the source code of the algorithm.

(4) Describe the pre-processing methods (e.g., data compression or data interleaving) that are applied to the plaintext data prior to encryption.

(5) Describe the post-processing methods (e.g., packetization, encapsulation) that are applied to the cipher text data after encryption.

(6) State all communication protocols (e.g., X.25, Telnet, TCP, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, SIP . . .) and cryptographic protocols and methods (e.g., SSL, TLS, SSH, IPSEC, IKE, SRTP, ECC, MD5, SHA, X.509, PKCS standards . . .), including application programming interfaces (APIs), that are supported and describe how they are used.

(7) State how the product is written to preclude user modification of the encryption algorithms, key management and key space.

(8) Describe the cryptographic functionality that is provided by third-party hardware or software encryption components (if any). Identify the manufacturers of the hardware or software components, including specific part numbers and version information as needed to describe the product. Describe whether the encryption software components (if any) are statically or dynamically linked.

(9) Identify the version(s) and type(s) of compilers, runtime interpreters or code assemblers used, as applicable.

(10) With respect to your company's encryption products, are any of the products (or its encryption components) manufactured outside the United States? If yes, provide manufacturing locations (city and country).

(11) See § 740.17(b)(2) of the EAR . Describe whether the item meets any of the § 740.17(b)(2) criteria. Provide a comparison of your item against the criteria listed in each paragraph of § 740.17(b)(2). Give specific data for each of the parameters listed, as applicable (e.g., maximum aggregate encrypted throughput, maximum number of encrypted endpoints, maximum satellite or terrestrial wireless transmission rates, terrestrial wireless operating range, customized cryptography, network penetration capability, cryptanalytic capability and “non-standard cryptography” ).

(12) See § 740.17(b)(3) of the EAR . Describe whether the product meets any of the criteria described under each of the paragraphs in § 740.17(b)(3) (e.g., chip, chipset, electronic assembly, programmable logic device, cryptographic library, cryptographic development kit, “non-standard cryptography,” digital forensics, and “cryptographic activation” ).

(13) See § 740.17(b)(2)(iii) of the EAR . For products which incorporate an “open cryptographic interface” as defined in part 772 of the EAR , describe the cryptographic interface.

(14) For products with IPsec capabilities:

(i) Please describe your product's implementation of IKE vendor IDs, including vendor specific and capability IDs; and

(ii) Please specify which version of IKE you use (IKEv1 or IKEv2).

(c) For classification requests for hardware or software “encryption components” other than source code (i.e., chips, toolkits, executable or linkable modules intended for use in or production of another encryption item) provide the following additional information:

(1) Reference the application for which the components are used in, if known;

(2) State if there is a general programming interface to the component;

(3) State whether the component is constrained by function; and

(4) Identify the encryption component and include the name of the manufacturer, component model number or other identifier.

(d) For classification requests for “encryption source code” provide the following information:

(1) If applicable, reference the executable (object code) product that was previously classified by BIS;

(2) Include whether the source code has been modified, and the technical details on how the source code was modified; and

(3) Upon request, include a copy of the sections of the source code that contain the encryption algorithm, key management routines and their related calls.

[75 FR 36497, June 25, 2010, as amended at 81 FR 64674, Sept. 20, 2016]