In December 2005, a plenary conference of the Wassenaar Arrangement made a number of changes to its “List of Dual-Use Goods and Technologies and Munitions List.” A summary of those changes can be found here.

Today BIS finally got around to issuing a rule incorporating those changes into the CCL. As a result, a number of ECCNs have been modified, changed and added.

One of the key additions is ECCN 5A002.a.9 which covers “quantum cryptography.” Quantum cryptography is a relatively new technology which relies on principals of quantum physics to set up a secure communications channel. Information is encoded into quantum properties of photons and then transmitted. If any party other than the sender and recipient intercepts or reads the communication it alters the photons in detectable ways. Although there are not yet any significant commercial implementations of quantum cryptography it is thought that it could be used as a secure mechanism to distribute keys used in digital cryptography.

Under the new rules, quantum cryptography is treated identically with other forms of cryptography and is eligible for export under the procedures set forth in License Exception ENC. Thus, for example, quantum cryptography devices could be shipped to the “license-free zone” — basically the European Union plus Australia, New Zealand and Japan — immediately upon filing for review.

Another new addition to CCL are underwater electronic field sensors which are now classified under ECCN 6A006.b. These have typically been designed for military use and were listed on the U.S.M.L. at Category XI(b), but since such devices are now being manufactured for civilian uses as well, the new ECCN for dual-use versions was added. Under the new ECCN the underwater sensors would be subject to control if they have “a ‘noise level’ (sensitivity) lower (better) than 8 nanovolt per meter per square root Hz when measured at 1 Hz.”

One deletion implemented by the new rules illustrates the difficulty that both the CCL and the Wassenaar Lists have in keeping up with the increasing availability to consumers of technologies that once were out of their reach. ECCN 8A002.f and its Wassenaar list analog 8.a.2.f provided for the control of:

Electronic imaging systems, specially designed or modified for underwater use, capable of storing digitally more than 50 exposed images

Clearly inexpensive digital underwater cameras that would be covered by this classification have become broadly available throughout the world. So a decontrol note was added to the CCL and the Wassenaar lists to exclude from control “digital cameras specially designed for consumer purposes, other than those employing electronic image multiplication techniques.” One can only wonder how many digital underwater cameras were illegally exported prior to the adoption of this decontrol note.