A US plan to require a licence to export \u201cintrusion software\u201d would make the web more dangerous, Google says. The 41 nations in the Wassenaar arms-control arrangement want it updated to stop oppressive regimes acquiring net-based surveillance systems. But Google says their definition of \u201cintrusion software\u201d is \u201cdangerously broad and vague\u201d including information about bugs and vulnerabilities. The US says the plan balances computer security and foreign policy goals. Google, like many other companies, uncovers thousands of vulnerabilities, such as Heartbleed and Poodle, every year, and seeking a licence to publish information about each one would slow the process. Google lawyer Neil Martin said the change would \u201champer our ability to defend ourselves, our users, and make the web safer\u201d. \u201cIt would be a disastrous outcome if an export regulation intended to make people more secure resulted in billions of users across the globe becoming persistently less secure.\u201d Google said it would ask the US Department of Commerce to put in place exemptions for vulnerability research and to allow companies that operated internationally to easily share information internally. Story Courtesy of BBC News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A US plan to require a licence to export \u201cintrusion software\u201d would make the web more dangerous, Google says. The 41 nations in the Wassenaar arms-control arrangement want it updated to stop oppressive regimes acquiring net-based surveillance systems. Continue reading