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- From: pwd@Apple.com (Patrick W. P. Dirks)
- Newsgroups: sci.crypt
- Subject: Re: Privacy -- encrypt/decrypt devices on Wireless phones
- Message-ID: <pwd-040193182515@thunder.apple.com>
- Date: 5 Jan 93 02:33:18 GMT
- References: <1hpsm7INNp2i@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>
- Sender: news@gallant.apple.com
- Followup-To: sci.crypt
- Organization: Apple Computer
- Lines: 33
-
- In article <1hpsm7INNp2i@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, bz223@cleveland.Freenet.Edu
- (Danny Guy Frezza) wrote:
- >
- >
- > I would like to ask, specifically, if anyone has information
- > concerning encrypting/decrypting wireless phones? Someone mentioned in a
- > recent post that Motorola has such a thing, but, how about AT&T or other
- > big giants? Do they have any wireless phones that are "secure" or are
- > there any plans for it, on a wide-scale basis? I must say, that about a
-
- This subject has been discussed in alt.scanner, and follow-ups may be more
- appropriate there. If I recall correctly, Motorola's "security" consists
- of an analog frequency-inversion scheme (i.e. low tones are converted to
- high tones and vice-versa around some center frequency). No encryption,
- and no real security. Some of the newer 900 MHz cordless phones
- appearantly use a spread-spectrum transmission scheme to communicate a
- digitized data stream between the handset and the base unit so they are
- harder to listen in on without special-purpose hardware: look at a recent
- issue of "Popular Communications" - they reviewed two of the new models.
-
- As other posters have pointed out, monitoring cordless phone links is *NOT*
- illegal in the US. I believe monitoring cellular phone calls is not
- against the law, either, except that you cannot disclose the contents of
- anything you monitor or use it for your own gain. Congress recently passed
- a bill that prohibits the sale of scanners that can receive (or be "easily
- modified to receive") the 800 MHz cellular band. That doesn't make
- listening illegal, however, and doesn't remove existing scanners from the
- market.
-
- The real lesson, I'm afraid, is: don't expect *ANY* privacy on cordless or
- cellular phones. You stand a good chance of being disappointed if you do.
-
- -Pat Dirks.
-