Difference between revisions 123927160 and 123927163 on dewiki

{{cleanup|date=December 2010}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:_NSAKEY}}
'''_NSAKEY''' was a [[variable (computer science)|variable]] name discovered in [[Windows NT 4]] [[Windows_NT_4.0#Service_Packs|Service Pack]] 5 (which had been released unstripped of its [[Debug symbol|symbolic debugging]] data) in August 1999 by Andrew D. Fernandes of Cryptonym Corporation. That variable contained a 1024-bit [[public key]].

== Overview ==
(contracted; show full)

A second possibility is that Microsoft included a second key to be able to sign cryptographic modules outside the United States, while still complying with the BXA's EAR. If cryptographic modules were to be signed in multiple locations, using multiple keys is a reasonable approach. However, no cryptographic module has ever been found to be signed by _NSAKEY and Microsoft denies that any other certification authority exists.

Microsoft denied that the NSA has access to the _NSAKEY secret key.
  <ref>{{cite web
|url=http://articles.cnn.com/1999-09-03/tech/9909_03_windows.nsa.02_1_national-security-agency-cryptography-windows-nt4?_s=PM:TECH
|title=NSA key to Windows an open question
|date=3 September 1999
|accessdate=2011-11-20
}}</ref>

It was possible to remove the second _NSAKEY using the following (note this was for Windows software in 1999).
(contracted; show full){{Use dmy dates|date=December 2010}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nsakey}}
[[Category:Microsoft criticisms and controversies]]
[[Category:History of cryptography]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:National Security Agency]]
[[Category:Microsoft Windows security technology]]
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[[Category:Articles with underscores in the title]]

[[fr:NSAKEY]]
[[ru:NSAKEY]]