Written by: Haim Ravia, Dotan Hammer
The Israeli Minister of Defense issued a new set of regulations to repeal the decades-old ministerial order on the supervision of encryption (referred to as the “Cipher Order”).
This legislative shift is rooted in a fundamental change in regulatory thinking, acknowledging the widespread integration of encryption products and the expansion of the networked environment. Consequently, the historic need for comprehensive supervision over all aspects of encryption means is deemed unnecessary. The decision also aligns with the Israeli government’s declared efforts to reduce regulation.
The change will come into effect in about four months. As of that point, supervision of encryption will be limited primarily to the export segment, focusing specifically on encryption measures listed under the Information Security chapter of the Wassenaar Arrangement.
Items previously controlled by the Cipher Order will transition to existing export control laws: the Defense Export Control Law for security and defense-related uses, or the Import and Export Order for civilian uses.
Click here to read the repealing regulations (in Hebrew).
