Page "Export of cryptography in the United States" Paragraph 7

SSL-encrypted messages used the RC4 cipher, and used 128-bit keys.

U. S. government export regulations would not permit crypto systems using 128-bit keys to be exported.

At this stage Western governments had, in practice, a split personality when it came to encryption ; policy was made by the military cryptanalysts, who were solely concerned with preventing their ' enemies ' acquiring secrets, but that policy was then communicated to commerce by officials whose job was to support industry.