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The curtain drops on US supercomputer export restrictions
SECURITY REPORTS The Curtain Drops on US Supercomputer Export Restrictions
America, South Korea, Eastern Europe and South Africa. India, Pakistan, former USSR, China and Vietnam. On the other, computer exports are not allowed in Iraq, Iran, Libya and North Korea.
Cynthia Bournellis Valley and the US computer industry welcomed Sailicon proposal easing the Federal restrictions on the export of high-powered computers. “The decision will relieve US computer manufacturers of unnecessary and ineffective regulations, which have often tied their hands while foreign competitors won major contracts or built their own systems”, said President Bill Clinton in a statement. This action could boost the sale of US computers abroad by $1 billion dollars, said one administration official. Computer vendors, such as Sun Microsystems, say domestic users will also benefit by creating jobs that will promote US national security and help manufacturers continue a high level of research and development. The new export rules will raise computer performance levels from 1500 million theoretical operations (MTOPS) per second to 7000 or 10 000 MTOPS, depending on the country. MTOPS is a composite performance measure derived by the government. The fastest computer to date is made by Cray Research and is rated at 100 000 MTOPS. A Cray spokesperson says that export restrictions above 1500 MTOPS often delayed sales of up to a year. In addition, adding that the new rules will enable Cray to export a majority of its mid-level super computers and top-of-the-line Silicon Graphics machines. In a letter to Clinton, a bipartisan group of members of the House National Security Committee argued for the President to leave restrictions alone, saying that deregulation will lead to weapons proliferation. But industry executives agree that Clinton is making the right move, arguing that computers are not key to building destructive weapons and that MTOPS ratings are meaningless, because it is possible for other powerful computers, which don’t have export restrictions to be networked together. According to data supplied by the White House, countries that can buy computers with virtually no restrictions include Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. However, US companies must keep records of shipments to these countries. Countries with no export restrictions up to 10 000 MTOPS are South
Computer Fraud & Security 0 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd
November 1995
Ex-IBMers Offer Total Security Solution Thomas Kaneshige n less than three years, four former Ibuilt a top security consultancy -
IBM executives have and they have some
industry leading clients to prove it. Asset Management Technologies (AMT), whose board of directors’ combined IBM years rival a century, offers a full service security tier rc’ solution to top corporations. Many of the former IBMers held high level positions in both asset management and security; consequently, AMT addresses a variety of security risks including physical theft, warranty fraud and counterfeiting.
“thefts in hightech hardware eached 8 billion in 395”
“Companies must adopt a comprehensive approach to asset management”, said CEO Barry Wilkins. “We have a total solution. Rather than simply adding a firewall here or a surveillance camera there, we cover all aspects of security in all areas of business.” According to Wilkins, who also heads BJSI (the consultancy arm of AMT), security breeches are increasing at an alarming pace. And thefts are occurring in all business areas: procurement, materials management, receiving, warehousing, manufacturing, shipping, packaging and distribution. The American Electronics Association reported thefts in high-tech hardware reached $8 billion in 1995, and is projected to cost the global market $200 billion by the year 2000. A report by the FBI computer crimes division stated an average technology theft carries the price tag of $450 000. AMT clients include two of the top five semiconductor companies, and three of the top five computer
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America, South Korea, Eastern Europe and South Africa. India, Pakistan, former USSR, China and Vietnam. On the other, computer exports are not allowed in Iraq, Iran, Libya and North Korea.
Cynthia Bournellis Valley and the US computer industry welcomed Sailicon proposal easing the Federal restrictions on the export of high-powered computers. “The decision will relieve US computer manufacturers of unnecessary and ineffective regulations, which have often tied their hands while foreign competitors won major contracts or built their own systems”, said President Bill Clinton in a statement. This action could boost the sale of US computers abroad by $1 billion dollars, said one administration official. Computer vendors, such as Sun Microsystems, say domestic users will also benefit by creating jobs that will promote US national security and help manufacturers continue a high level of research and development. The new export rules will raise computer performance levels from 1500 million theoretical operations (MTOPS) per second to 7000 or 10 000 MTOPS, depending on the country. MTOPS is a composite performance measure derived by the government. The fastest computer to date is made by Cray Research and is rated at 100 000 MTOPS. A Cray spokesperson says that export restrictions above 1500 MTOPS often delayed sales of up to a year. In addition, adding that the new rules will enable Cray to export a majority of its mid-level super computers and top-of-the-line Silicon Graphics machines. In a letter to Clinton, a bipartisan group of members of the House National Security Committee argued for the President to leave restrictions alone, saying that deregulation will lead to weapons proliferation. But industry executives agree that Clinton is making the right move, arguing that computers are not key to building destructive weapons and that MTOPS ratings are meaningless, because it is possible for other powerful computers, which don’t have export restrictions to be networked together. According to data supplied by the White House, countries that can buy computers with virtually no restrictions include Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. However, US companies must keep records of shipments to these countries. Countries with no export restrictions up to 10 000 MTOPS are South
Computer Fraud & Security 0 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd
November 1995
Ex-IBMers Offer Total Security Solution Thomas Kaneshige n less than three years, four former Ibuilt a top security consultancy -
IBM executives have and they have some
industry leading clients to prove it. Asset Management Technologies (AMT), whose board of directors’ combined IBM years rival a century, offers a full service security tier rc’ solution to top corporations. Many of the former IBMers held high level positions in both asset management and security; consequently, AMT addresses a variety of security risks including physical theft, warranty fraud and counterfeiting.
“thefts in hightech hardware eached 8 billion in 395”
“Companies must adopt a comprehensive approach to asset management”, said CEO Barry Wilkins. “We have a total solution. Rather than simply adding a firewall here or a surveillance camera there, we cover all aspects of security in all areas of business.” According to Wilkins, who also heads BJSI (the consultancy arm of AMT), security breeches are increasing at an alarming pace. And thefts are occurring in all business areas: procurement, materials management, receiving, warehousing, manufacturing, shipping, packaging and distribution. The American Electronics Association reported thefts in high-tech hardware reached $8 billion in 1995, and is projected to cost the global market $200 billion by the year 2000. A report by the FBI computer crimes division stated an average technology theft carries the price tag of $450 000. AMT clients include two of the top five semiconductor companies, and three of the top five computer
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