I recently discovered that the US has export resistrictions on certain high speed ADCs to some countries.
Why? Do ADCs have some magical power that gives other countries weapons? or are they just being cry babies about "their" precious technology. In any case it is just plain idiotic. It seems this ridiculous rule-making is quickly spiraling out of control.
It seems that if the US is so afraid of some many other countries, they must be pretty weak anyway.
I am just ranting because I am fed up with all this government CRAP.
Pure speculation, but I'd think that various "smart weapons" would need to process sensor input at high sample rates in real time. Think cruise missles, laser-guided smart bombs, close-in defense systems (e.g. Phalanx), etc. I have no idea how bleeding-edge these high-speed ADCs are, but they could certainly be an early link in the chain that makes these systems practical.
A month or so ago I ordered a couple of ATXMEGA32A4U processors. They are on in the catalog of the local Australian supplier, but weren't actually in stock. They had to be shipped from the UK.
Before they would ship them I had to sign a declaration:
We further certify that the goods will not be used for any purpose connected with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, or missiles capable of delivering such weapons; that they will not be re-exported or otherwise re-sold or transferred if it is known or suspected that they are intended or likely to be used for such purposes; and that the goods, or any replica of them, will not be used in any nuclear explosive activity or unsafeguarded nuclear fuel cycle activity.
Apart from the silliness of this, on multiple levels, as Bruce Schneier points out, the fundamental flaw is this one assumption:
Terrorists might be prepared to kill hundreds of people, but they aren't liars.
In other words, if you were planning to bring down an aircraft with a missile, might you, just conceivably, be prepared to lie on a Government form?
The other silliness is that I was able to order another one of these chips, conveniently pre-soldered onto a breakout board, from another UK supplier. Without signing any forms.
a.2. “Microprocessor microcircuits”, “microcomputer microcircuits”, microcontroller microcircuits, storage integrated circuits manufactured from a compound semiconductor, analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analog converters, electro-optical or “optical integrated circuits” designed for “signal processing”, field programmable logic devices, custom integrated circuits for which either the function is unknown or the control status of the equipment in which the integrated circuit will be used is unknown, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) processors, electrical erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), flash memories or static random-access memories (SRAMs), having any of the following:
...
a.5.a. ADCs having any of the following:
a.5.a.1. A resolution of 8 bit or more, but less than 10 bit, with an output rate greater than 500 million words per second;
a.5.a.2 A resolution of 10 bit or more, but less than 12 bit, with an output rate greater than 300 million words per second;
a.5.a.3. A resolution of 12 bit with an output rate greater than 200 million words per second;
a.5.a.4. A resolution of more than 12 bit but equal to or less than 14 bit with an output rate greater than 125 million words per second; or
a.5.a.5. A resolution of more than 14 bit with an output rate greater than 20 million words per second;
On a similar note, folks may remember the flap about PGP and Phil Zimmermann. The crypto software in PGP was categorized as munitions, so the allegation was that making PGP available for download on the web violated arms export control laws.
Apart from the silliness of this, on multiple levels, as Bruce Schneier points out, the fundamental flaw is this one assumption:
That is just plain funny. Why should the terrorists tell the truth?
I don't really see the big deal with digital signal processing. Its not a particularly new concept and there are still limits on what it can do.
I still think the word "absurd" describes this.
I hope you aren't under the impression that this behavior is exclusive to the US government. That would just be... naive.
I am sure that it is not but that doesn't make it any more correct.
Also keep in mind that vendors will go to extremes to ensure they are complying with export laws. Sometimes it is easier to go extreme in all cases to avoid missing the ones that actually matter.
Chagrin:
Now I'm curious if there's good money to be made selling fast ADCs on the black market.
I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill(*) you.
(*) Actually first I would send you a Cease and Desist. Next, I would file for an injunction to keep you from exporting said goods. Eventually I would file a barely applicable patent, while filing a lawsuit on "theft of trade secrets." At some point one of us will run out of money.
See, the government has it all wrong. Tie terrorist up in a(ny) court system and they won't have time to do bad things.
Maybe it's to get back at Sharp for not allowing the export of their super-long distance IR sensor (yeah - there's one they sell - or used to - that wasn't allowed to be imported into the US, that has a much larger distance range than the ones you can get)...
cr0sh:
Maybe it's to get back at Sharp for not allowing the export of their super-long distance IR sensor (yeah - there's one they sell - or used to - that wasn't allowed to be imported into the US, that has a much larger distance range than the ones you can get)...
LOL The rules are so ridiculous!
I wonder if it is legal to import now? And can these "illegal" import/exports be sneaked through illegally? Customs agents are usually that smart... (Not that I am planning on doing it, I am just curious)
Putting restrictions of fairly simple technologies makes nearly 0 sense.
It's disappointing to see Schneier make such a foolish, un-thought-out statement.
The actual assumption is that only the people serious enough to kill would be prepared to lie. I.e., that the rule will make it much more difficult (not make it impossible) for "bad guys" to get ahold of forbidden tech by eliminating most of the "casual" potential intermediaries. The idea is that the student in Boston or Stuttgart won't order a rail of video ADCs or DSPs for his facebook pal at Tehran U (who's actually a Revolutionary Guard colonel) if he knows he can get 5 years in the hoosegow for each chip.
Notice the way the declaration is written to be especially scary to the dealer who would claim "I was assured that those 500 RF remotes were intended for use in automating the window blinds at Hizbollah HQ, not for making IEDs". It's not about stopping terrorists directly (or the hostile governments the laws were originally written for): it's about deterring would-be facilitators.
I just don't get it. Assuming these chips are essential to whatever-it-is they are planning to do, they send someone to visit the UK on a tourist visa, they buy some chips locally, and take them home in their hand luggage. If necessary, mixed in with 100 chips that are not prohibited. Are the Customs guys going to look at the etched writing on hundreds, or thousands, even, of chips, and spot the one that is prohibited? Or they mail them back inside a Christmas card. It doesn't achieve anything.
This is "security theatre". It looks good, it costs a lot of money. It doesn't change anything.
I fully agree with nick's statement; except for the last part :"It doesn't change anything."
Basically people get used to having to sign these papers so they don't care anymore so the likelihood of signing and becoming a unintentional in between becomes very realistic.
so I say: This is "security theatre". It looks good, it costs a lot of money. It makes things more difficult for the next generation.
You are right, of course. It makes things worse for the next generation.
There was a funny show here in Australia (The Chaser) where these guys dressed in security guard uniforms convinced people coming down an escalator in a department store that they had to go back up "for security reasons".
It's this mindless obedience to authority that will be the real problem.
Then the real security guards showed up and the Chaser team told them to butt out because "I outrank you". I'm not sure how that ended but you get the general idea.
I think that example is a rather huge stretch to mindless obedience for a couple reasons.
redirecting flow of traffic in a private environment (yes, department stores are private property), is a rather trivial action. I think it's a bit excess to expect people to verify the validity of the authority involved. The consequences are trivial, thus the effort involved in doing so is excessive.
You'll never see these kinds of shows performing these stunts impersonating REAL law enforcement, because impersonating any real law enforcement agent is strictly illegal, regardless however innocent the intent of that impersonation.
I do believe very few, if any, people would allow some low rent security guard to truly invade their personal privacy (as in asking for identification, contact information, entry to their vehicle, etc.). In fact, few people would even allow an actual police officer to freely search their vehicle without cause. Those are the kind of invasive actions that would indicate a real mindless obedience.
Erm.. should I point out that our Arduinos are more than capable of being used for misdeeds? Ardupilot. Think about what it is...
For that matter, I recently bought RF remote modules, 315Mhz with a range of a hundred yards open air, around three dollars. You can go with 2.4 Ghz modules for ranges up to a mile or more, as I understand, for under ten bucks. This is for a pair, a transmitter and receiver, or two transceivers in the case of the 2.4GHz modules. Cell phone modules are pretty cheap too, and have almost unlimited range (assume there's some sort of signal coverage). Obviously, any one of these items could be used as a remote.
The reality is that they need to identify who might misuse the technology, as there's no way to reasonably restrict the technology. I should point out that all the devices listed above come from the Pacific Rim and are IMPORTED to the USA also....
I am planning on doing some wet-plate (similar to tintype) colloidon printing, and one of the items on the list of things to research is whether or not the purchase of silver nitrate and a couple of other compounds is now restricted or would put me on a list someplace. I know Silver Nitrate can be used for nefarious purposes, and living in the Police State that we now live in, I just prefer staying under the radar as much as possible..
jraskell:
I do believe very few, if any, people would allow some low rent security guard to truly invade their personal privacy (as in asking for identification, contact information, entry to their vehicle, etc.). In fact, few people would even allow an actual police officer to freely search their vehicle without cause. Those are the kind of invasive actions that would indicate a real mindless obedience.
I'd disagree on your suggestion about allowing the search, but for the extreme cases I think you'd want to talk to Stanley Milgram about what people will or will not do.
