HP's International Cryptography Framework: compromise or threat?

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has developed the International Cryptography Framework (ICF), the strongest encryption system approved for export by the US government to date. The hardware-software system provides various levels of encryption strength, depending on government regulations in the USA and importing countries. In some cases, ICF will allow US manufacturers to export stronger encryption products than regulations have permitted in the past. The US computer industry has said this is necessary for it to compete more effectively in the international marketplace. However, some say ICF may prove to be a Trojan horse in the war over electronic communications privacy. They contend that millions of people will buy ICF-enabled equipment that has weak encryption and that would permit the US government to decrypt data transmissions easily.