“OpenSSH is a free and reusable implementation of the SSH
suite of network connectivity tools that increasing numbers of
people on the Internet are coming to rely on. Many users of telnet,
rlogin, ftp, and other such programs might not realize that their
password is transmitted across the Internet unencrypted, but it is.
OpenSSH encrypts all traffic (including passwords) to
effectively eliminate eavesdropping, connection hijacking, and
other network-level attacks.”
“The job of integrating SSH involved more than bringing the
older code up to current standards. It also meant clearing the
legal hurdles to free cryptography, namely government restrictions
and patents. Most OpenBSD crypto developers live outside the US,
thereby avoiding the well known US government export prohibition.
The exception was Niels Provos, a German citizen attending
university in Michigan. Scrupulous to keep the work free of all
restrictions, Niels crossed the border to Windsor, Ontario and set
up shop in a local computer lab to commit code to the CVS
repository in Calgary.”
“While the USA waits for the RSA patent to expire in September
2000, the rest of the world doesn’t have to worry about it. OpenSSH
links with the OpenSSL library, released under an Apache-style
license.”