en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
 ·RoadRunner Cable
 ·DSL EXTREME
| GSM was cracked
A long time ago... its TDMA based.
What does make things difficult are things such as frequency hopping, DTX and handoffs. I know that in my area, I have MANY handoffs between sites (at least once/minute). As an extra bonus, 3G (UMTS/WCDMA) is a lot more similar to CDMA which Verizon, Sprint, etc. use, and more difficult to 'hack'.
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Canada = Hollywood North |
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Telco Tech
@verizon.net
| More Yellow Journalism
As usual, the press is trying to manufacture news.
Landlines have always been tappable to some degree.
VOIP lines are no different.
Primarily, the author is discussing access to meta-data. As if billing data was never available to illegitimate parties? *This* is "easily hacking into your call"?
This "reporter" must yet believe that "Bushco" tapped millions of phone lines (without a court order!), never bothering to calculate how much manpower would be required for such a fantasy. |
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iLive4Apple
Hybrid power
Premium
join:2006-07-13
Helena, AL | reply to en102
Re: GSM was cracked
The encyption on GSM is weak. iDEN which is used by Nextel is encrypted better and much more secure. 3G uses a better encryption pattern though. |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA | I would tend to agree. That end of GSM is quite old. At least 3G has a CDMA based interface which is much more difficult to hack.
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Canada = Hollywood North |
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IndyDoug
join:2003-10-26
Indianapolis, IN | reply to Telco Tech
Re: More Yellow Journalism
Bushco had the assistance of the telcom companies along with the US PATRIOT ACT to spy on citizens. It's not the millions of phone lines that he wanted to tap into but the random innocent citizen whose civil liberties are being undermined. |
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Dogfather
Premium
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA | Here we go again... |
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N3OGH
Bear patrol must be working like a charm
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs
 ·Verizon FIOS
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to en102
Re: GSM was cracked
Anyone who operates under the illusion of an expectation of privacy over any digital or analog common carrier network is walking through life with rose colored glasses on.
Cell phone? Assume someone is listening...
Land line? Assume someone is listening...
VoIP? Assume someone is listening......
Internet? Assume you're being tracked.....
If I want a private conversation with someone, I meet them in person someplace secret. If I want to keep something a secret, I keep it to myself. PERIOD.
Remember, 3 can keep a secret if 2 are dead....
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Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power… |
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ccb056
join:2002-04-05
West Lafayette, IN | I want to play too
Where can I get some of this equipment? |
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knightmb
Everybody Lies
join:2003-12-01
Franklin, TN
·AT&T DSL Service
| said by ccb056  :Where can I get some of this equipment? Radio Shack, $25 worth of parts. Don't know where they came up with the $900 figure, but I'll be glad to sell the same for $899.99  |
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compuwizz
join:2001-03-05
Blacksburg, VA
| Voice is in the clear...
Most all voice calls have been in the clear and easily tapable for ages. LD calls travel over channelized T1s or T3s between COs. Each CO probably has at least 1 if not more T1 test sets. They plug up to the T1 port and can scroll through each channel without being detected. So since a cell phone, VoIP or landline call will go through a switch at some point, eavesdropping is going to happen.
The only time Voice could be secure is if you own the network it is on and the person you're calling is also on the same network. Then I'd throw in some sort of VPN to encrypt it along the way.
I believe there is a type of secure ISDN that encrypts the audio, but I haven't seen it in use. |
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Kearnstd
Elf Wizard
Premium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ
| reply to en102
Re: GSM was cracked
the most secure data is that which can only be accessed in person and has no network or outside connection and is in a vault with a smaller AC vent then the one in Mission Impossible.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports |
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DJMADfx
join:2002-02-27
Merrick, NY | reply to N3OGH
Just don't plan the meet up via cell phone, land line, VoIP, or the internet.  |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA | reply to N3OGH
Very true... privacy is mostly illusion these days.
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Canada = Hollywood North |
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fatmanskinny
Premium
join:2004-01-04
Wandering
 ·Comcast Digital Vo..
·Comcast
| reply to N3OGH
said by N3OGH :If I want a private conversation with someone, I meet them in person someplace secret. If I want to keep something a secret, I keep it to myself. PERIOD. Unfortunately, even meeting someone in a "secret" place does not guarantee a private conversation. With the onslaught of camera phones and other recording technology that can easily fit in your pocket and pick up a pin drop, privacy is pretty much out the window.
Like you said, if you want to keep something secret, don't tell anyone, including those closest to you. I always assume that what I say may eventually be told to someone else or recycled back to me in conversation....the latter I learned while getting into disagreements with the wife.
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The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary. |
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JamesB7
@sbcglobal.net | reply to Telco Tech
Re: More Yellow Journalism
Not much manpower. Text to speech, and use call records to build graphs of which people are linked. That's what I'd do if I were an evil President. It doesn't take a genius and it doesn't take manpower. It takes computers. |
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iLive4Apple
Hybrid power
Premium
join:2006-07-13
Helena, AL
 ·Verizon BroadbandA..
·Charter Pipeline
·AT&T Southeast
·ViaTalk
| reply to en102
Re: GSM was cracked
said by en102 :I would tend to agree. That end of GSM is quite old. At least 3G has a CDMA based interface which is much more difficult to hack. Yea. I don't feel unsecure talking on my AT&T phone. But I really have nothing to hide, I just fear stalkers.
If I want to keep something secret like my job stuff, I just use Nextel Direct Connect, which is over a secure encrypted ip network. But stuff really important, I do it the old fashion way. In person |
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AquaSport
California - Sun, Surf, Traffic Jams
join:2007-05-03
California
·Comcast
| reply to N3OGH
yes, I have come to expect weird noises on my telephone line, internet connection problems ("unscheduled maintenance"), ususual GSM cell phone static ("the largest All-Digital network"? Ha! My ass it is!), and with anything else electronic, I assume that it is being publicized on the internet as I speak/type.
To me, nothing is "Private", so don't tell anyone anything you don't want the entire country to know, unless it's face-to-face. At first it was creepy to think that someone is listening in on your phone calls, but now when i hear that little clickey noise, I invite them to join the conversation!
the world (or, at least the U.S. of A) is a messed up place, sometimes. 
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Out with the old, in with the Antique! 
***********
"Hey, have you heard the song... 'Bomb Iran?' *bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, Ir...* n - never mind..." - John McCain |
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AquaSport
California - Sun, Surf, Traffic Jams
join:2007-05-03
California | Encryption for ISDN phone calls?
I bet the encryption keys are sent to the NSA for "security reasons"! |
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supergirl
join:2007-03-20
Pensacola, FL
·Cox VOIP
·Skype
·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southeast
·magicjack.com
| reply to knightmb
Re: I want to play too
said by knightmb :said by ccb056 :Where can I get some of this equipment? Radio Shack, $25 worth of parts. Don't know where they came up with the $900 figure, but I'll be glad to sell the same for $899.99 Yes, but the gov't pays $10,000 for that equipment.
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Saving the world keeps me busy. However, I find Earth very primitive from my home planet of Krypton.
-Supergirl |
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white
@verizon.net
| house
white house: lost over 5 million emails over a 2 year period form March 2003 (what was going on then?) to October 2005.
congress: turn over all data containing emails
white house: they're erased, we don't have them.
congress: you don't have them?
white house: no
months go by.
white house it: we have backups
white house: backups?
white house it: yes, we have archived all information on disc, flash memory and hard drives.
congress: turn it over, now.
white house: no
Hmm.... However, keep in mind... once information goes onto public airwaves, or semi private networks such as cell, internet, or other mediums, the potential for it to be compromised is there. However, some secrets are held so long, that time makes them nearly worthless by the time they're released (such is politics). |
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