1. Historical background

Until the 1970s

The regulations were simple: the use, manufacture and import of cryptology tools were, in principle, prohibited. By way of exception, only the military and diplomats were allowed to use encryption tools.

It was in the 1970s that banks and academics began to take an interest in cryptology; the former, to protect the confidentiality of their transactions, and the latter, by developing so-called "asymmetric" encryption methods, based on public and private keys. These methods paved the way for the electronic signature of documents.

From then on, cryptology began to be liberalized. First, within countries, cryptology became accessible to the civilian sector. Then, developed countries began to think internationally, with the aim of harmonizing export policy for cryptology goods....