NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #1/NN_1993_1.iso/spool/comp/dcom/fax/2421

Text File | 1993-01-12 | 1.6 KB | 38 lines

Newsgroups: comp.dcom.fax
Path: sparky!uunet!psinntp!panix!dannyb
From: [e-mail] (Daniel Burstein)
Subject: Re: Fax with encryption?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 06:37:23 GMT
Lines: 27

the question was asked about whether there were user freindly methods of
encrypting faxen, and whether this could be part of the standard fax
protocol activated in the intial "mating" two standard fax machines
arrange before communicating (well, really it's before they transfer the
fax, but you know what I mean).

Answer: unfortunately, the simple answer is -no-.  reason is that the
standards for Group 3 fax, the protocols that make it possible for just
about all machiens to "talk" to each other, were designed before this was
considered. So ther is no provision in the id'ing stream to make note of
this.

BUT.... there are, in fact, various add-ons using PROPRIETARY encruyprtion
schemes which hook between the fax machine and the phone line (or, for
that matter, between a DATA modem and the phone line) which do additional
encryption transparently to the user.  This does require that you use two
of them, of course.  Various levels of security are available, up to, and
including, DES and extended versions.

(SOme of these require US Gov't approval for export, so chances are they
give the NSA at least a grimace.)

danny (shh, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not looking
for you) burstein

[e-mail]