🚀 go-pugleaf

bz223@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Danny Guy Frezza) writes:


>	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? 

Although "secure" wireless phones may exist, it would be impossible
for the general public to obtain one.  Strictly speaking, a "secure" device
would allow discussion or dissemination of classified material
over a non-secure link (i.e. phone lines, air waves) and thus
would be unavailable to the public. 
  As far as Motorola's offering, I suspect it doesn't use anything that
the NSA can't crack.  It may just turn speach into digital pulses that
can be reassembled at the receiving end.     
   

>[son listening] to wireless phone conversations, I became annonyed and
>explained to him that it was not right to listen in on private
>conversations. I beccame quite upset, knowing the potential of this problem. 

It may not be right, but it certainly is legal as long as the contents
of that conversation are not disclosed.  Cellular conversations are 
"protected" from eavesdropping thanks to the fine folks on capitol hill.
But that doesn't mean anyone with a scanner or even an old TV which
covered UHF channels up to 83 can't listen in.

>I see no reason why
>for example, a base unit and a handheld cordless phone, cannot have at 
>least the same privacy as a wired line.  For this reason, I am asking this
>question as a serious one.  I surely would not like someone eavesdropping
>on my conversations.  I know that the choice was mine, but did not realized
>how simple it was to intercept a wirless conversation.  If there are no
>specific wirless base-handheld phones that employ sophisicated privacy
>features, are there any devices that can be added to existing wirless
>phones?  Thanks.
>-- 

I agree with you, there *should* be devices available which would allow
a reasonable amount of privacy.  Law enforcement and
spy-catching would be hampered, however, if such devices were available to the
general public.  What's interesting though, is that the *real* spies
and criminals probably already use such devices.  They're not that hard
to build (at least I wouldn't think so).  Get a couple of A-D converters,
maybe a DES chip, and you're all set, more or less ( I don't know, I've
never built one).
  This lack of privacy is precisely why I *won't* purchase a cordless
phone.