Draft law aims to safeguard cryptography

Safety of information affects country's political, economic and defense sectors

A draft law to promote the steady and sound development of cryptography as well as to ensure cybersecurity is to be submitted to China's top legislature for further review next week.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislative body, will have a second review of the draft law on cryptography at its bimonthly session that will open on Monday, according to the committee's Legislative Affairs Commission.

On Friday, Zang Tiewei, the commission's spokesman, said during a news conference that the new version of the draft will give more details on educating cryptography talent and on improving security evaluations of commercial cryptography.

After the draft was first reviewed in June, the commission opened it to the public online on July 5 and received 358 opinions by Sept 2, with some foreign enterprises based in China showing their concerns on whether the draft would limit their encrypted services or products.

In response to this issue, Zang said: "We won't discriminate against foreign-related enterprises. They don't need to worry."

"We'll offer equal protection on intellectual property of encrypted products and services, no matter where they are from," he added.

Different from passwords widely used when internet users register online, cryptography in the draft refers to products, services or technologies that are given encrypted protection or security authentication by special transformation of data.

Security chips on identification cards, for example, is applied in such cryptography.

Cryptography, as a crucial national resource, relates to the nation's political, economic, defense and information security. It has also been adopted in various aspects of social development, including finance and telecommunication.

The draft's first version classified cryptography into core, common and commercial cryptography, stipulating core and common cryptography are used to protect State secrets and should be governed under the strict and united administration of the cryptography authorities.

Commercial cryptography, which applies to online banks and payment tools, aims to guarantee the safety of information for citizens, enterprises and social organizations, and to prevent the user's private information from being stolen or falsified, according to the draft.

Considering the importance of commercial cryptography, the draft not only encourages more research, developments and applications in this field, but also supports the industry association to play a role in the regulation and promotion of industrial growth.

Besides cryptography, the top legislature will continue reviewing a draft section on marriage and family in the civil code, a draft revision of the Forest Law and a draft law on community corrections in its following NPC Standing Committee's bimonthly session.

Draft revisions to the Minors Protection Law and the law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency and the Archives Law are expected to be deliberated in the session.

A draft decision on the National Supervisory Commission's formulation of supervision regulations will also be reviewed next week.