China restricts encryption exports

On 1 December, China’s Export Control Law came into effect. A day later, the country’s Ministry of Commerce published the first list of commodities affected by the law. According to The Register, the list restricts exports of: virtual private networks (VPNs); chips with encryption functions used in finance industry applications; key management products and cryptanalysis equipment, dedicated password-generating hardware; quantum cryptographic equipment; and exports of all software and other technology that could be used to make, design, or test the aforementioned items. The list of affected commodities is not yet complete.