2 cissp ® Official Study Guide Eighth Edition

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Encryption Export Controls
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security sets forth regulations on 
the export of encryption products outside the United States. Under previous regulations, it 
was virtually impossible to export even relatively low-grade encryption technology outside 
the United States. This placed U.S. software manufacturers at a great competitive disadvan-
tage to foreign firms that faced no similar regulations. After a lengthy lobbying campaign by 
the software industry, the president directed the Commerce Department to revise its regula-
tions to foster the growth of the American security software industry.
Current regulations now designate the categories of retail and mass market security 
software. The rules now permit firms to submit these products for review by the Commerce 
Department, but the review will take no longer than 30 days. After successful completion 
of this review, companies may freely export these products.
Privacy
The right to privacy has for years been a hotly contested issue in the United States. The main 
source of this contention is that the Constitution’s Bill of Rights does not explicitly provide 
for a right to privacy. However, this right has been upheld by numerous courts and is vigor-
ously pursued by organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Europeans have also long been concerned with their privacy. Indeed, countries such 
as Switzerland are world renowned for their ability to keep financial secrets. Later in this 
chapter, we’ll examine how the European Union data privacy laws impact companies and 
internet users.
U.S. Privacy Law
Although there is no constitutional guarantee of privacy, a myriad of federal laws (many 
enacted in recent years) are designed to protect the private information the government 
maintains about citizens as well as key portions of the private sector such as financial, educa-
tional, and healthcare institutions. In the following sections, we’ll examine a number of these 
federal laws.