China to demand details of security technology from foreign companies
Last Updated: Monday, December 8, 2008 | 4:42 PM ET
CBC News
China plans to introduce new rules that will require foreign companies to obtain official certification from the government for the technology used to keep e-mail and data networks secure.
The new rules, set to take effect May 1, cover 13 types of hardware and software, such as data-encryption and network security systems and programs to block spam and hackers.
The rules could further the government's desire to monitor the internet.
They could also boost the Chinese computer industry by protecting security companies from foreign firms that dominate the market, said Yin Changlai, head of a business group sanctioned by the government.
"I think there's both a national security goal and an industrial policy goal to this," said Scott Kennedy, an Indiana University professor who monitors the Chinese government's dealings with business.
While precise details about the rules have yet to be revealed, leading computer companies such as Microsoft and Cisco Systems will be affected because they build security technology into products they make.
The U.S. government has complained to China about the new rules claiming they could affect trade, and has asked that the plan be scrapped.
China has tried before to compel companies to reveal details about encryption systems, but the companies were able to fend off the demand.
With files from the Associated Press
