Slashdot Mirror
Italian Phone Taps Spur Encryption Use
manekineko2 writes "This article in the NYTimes discusses how a recent rash of high-profile mobile phone taps in Italy is spurring a rush toward software-encrypted phone conversations. Private conversations have been tapped and subsequently leaked to the media and have resulted in disclosures of sensitive takeover discussions, revelations regarding game-fixing in soccer, and the arrest of a prince on charges of providing prostitutes and illegal slot machines. An Italian investigative reporter stated that no one would ever discuss sensitive information on the phone now. As a result, encryption software for mobile phones has moved from the government and military worlds into the mainstream. Are GSM phones in the US ripe for a similar explosion in the use of freely available wiretapping technology, and could this finally be the impetus to for widespread use of software-encrypted communications?"
It would be really nice if that came standard in cellphones (Properly just a empty dream). But maybe a plugin for windows mobile and symbian handsets could be possible.
Visit http://www.crunzh.com/ for free software. Mac/Lin/Win
Why would it be a problem? Only private keys ca be used to decrypt data. Unless you were concerned about the man-in-the-middle just rewriting the data to say something else, but it's hard to imagine how they'd do that to a live voice conversation.
== Jez ==
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An Italian investigative reporter stated that no one would ever discuss sensitive information on the phone now.
Why on Earth would you ever discuss sensitive information on the phone before? There's always been phone tapping tech. It's only the laws for that technology's usage that protected anyone from it. You never say anything on the phone that you wouldn't say to a cop. If you don't know that rule, you're a pretty inept criminal.
Law enforcement has had the ability to tap in and monitor cellular communications.
In the days of AMPS and NAMPS it was a piece of cake. Friend of mine worked in IT for the local PD and was able to get a scanner that wasn't 800-900 blocked, and a little card and software for the computer that allowed us to follow calls as they went from cell to cell.
CDMA and GSM just throw a little wrinkle in.
I believe the GSM standards actually mandate encryption. However, such encryption isn't going to do very much to protect you from wiretaps if the wiretapper has the permission from the carrier
The encryption is only between the handset and basestation. If people have the ability to make "legal" taps it wouldn't even help with a call between two phones connected to the same basestation.
You'd need end to end encryption which would also require you to establish a "data" call, which could well be charged differently from a "voice" call.
An attack is very simple. You need to implement a Man in the Middle Attack. All you need to do is have your own base station. Low power base station are becoming cheaper, even to the extent that they are being put into aircraft. There is no authentication under GSM of the base station. The base station can switch encryption on and off between the base station and the phone. The phone will not warn you that encryption has switched off! Therefor to eavesdrop on a phone, when you can not get a tap at an exchange you need to buy yourself a small portable base station (Getting cheaper all the time), follow your victim, and listen.