ATF Takes Responsibility for Federal Software

[Matt Galster]

> 
> Subject: ATF Takes Responsibility for Federal Software Policy
> Enforcement
> 
> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Department of the Treasury announced today
> that responsibility for enforcement of new federal regulations of the
> software industry will fall under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of
> Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).  As the regulations come into
> effect, the bureau will be renamed to be the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
> Firearms, and Software (ATFS).
> 
> The new regulations have been taken by most observers as a key
> indication of the Federal Government's serious concern over the software
> production scandal gripping the nation.  The final verdict of the grand
> jury investigation into the dangers of unregulated software production
> was praised as a major victory by software leaders in Redmond last
> month.
> 
> The grand jury investigation centered on the disturbing trend that key
> portions of the nation's critical infrastructure are being entrusted to
> a software product for which the secret inner workings (known as `source
> code') are becoming as prevalent as pornography on the Internet.
> 
> The Director of the ATF's 5,000-strong team of agents has pledged his
> full support to enforce the new regulations, under which all software
> development must take place only in licensed facilities by trained
> induhviduals.  He was joined at a press conference this morning by the
> Director of the National Infrastructure Protection Center, who said,
> "It's about time the ATF took the entire software industry into its
> jurisdiction."  He continued, "We would never consider laying the
> blueprints for our critical assets out for all to see.  I applaud the
> new regulations for bringing sanity to a long unchecked industry."
> 
> The public will have until 1 Jun 2002 to dispose of all unregulated
> software products they may own.  Possession of unlicensed software
> products can result in penalties up to 20 years in jail and
> multi-million dollar fines. Currently, only Smallsoft of Redmond,
> Washington, has achieved the necessary regulatory status to produce
> software in compliance with the new regulations.
> 
> An underground group of activists using the moniker ``the Electronic
> Frontier Foundation'' (EFF) has been strongly critical of the Federal
> Government's position throughout.  Police have indicated the violent
> clashes are expected between supporters of the EFF and US Presidential
> nominee Billy Doors, the major proponent of the regulations, as he
> addresses business leaders in Winnemucca, Nevada, this afternoon.
>