11 June 1998
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 14:05:44 -0700 (PDT) From: Greg Broiles <gbroiles@netbox.com> To: Ross.Anderson@cl.cam.ac.uk cc: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net, ukcrypto@maillist.ox.ac.uk Subject: FOIA request re crypto export, NSA, GCHQ We corresponded briefly last fall with respect to a transfer of cryptographic hardware from the UK to partie(s) in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the embargo against the apartheid state, and collusion between NSA and GCHQ .. you'd suggested on the ukcrypto mailing list that a US citizen might like to file a FOIA request for details about that. I sent a FOIA request a few days after your message, and just yesterday received their response .. they said that they searched all of their records, the search took less than two hours, and found no responsive documents. I suspect that their "no records" response is actually a "Glomar response", which means that they're saying there are no records when actually the records are classified; Clinton issued an executive order in 1995 allowing that practice. I'm planning to appeal their response. So, no news yet, but thought you might be amused to learn that the wheels of the bureaucracy are grinding along slowly. Their response is online at <http://www.parrhesia.com/foia/ibmsa-nsa-1.jpg>. -- Greg Broiles gbroiles@netbox.com