Sameer wrote
My AT&T 900 (or is it 9000?) MHz digital cordless phone says the same thing. I figure it uses a weak cryptosystem. There is something about key setup when you return the handset to the base. (The phone was $200, FWIW)
Dan wrote:
I saw a new cordless phone made by Motorola in a retail outlet today that is supposedly "Secure from eavesdroppers." I asked the salespeople for more technical info, but they weren't very helpful. Does anyone have any information on this? I didn't notice any "Not for Export" stickers on the box, and the ITAR does cover spread-spectrum technology. So is it analog or digital? Is it just doing simple analog tricks, or is it encrypting a bitstream? Clipper maybe? I doubt it. Any info appreciated. Dan
I've also got an ATT 9000. It's one of the digital 900Mhz phones, and has no encryption. It claims extra security due to being digital - your average 14 year old's scanner is analog only. There's a bunch of frequencies. The frequency to use, and (fairly small (16bit?) security code gets reset when the receiver is put on it's stand. The code is used only for a handshake, so several phones in the same area won't interfere by accident. It is not frequency agile - the same freq is used throughout the call. It's a good phone - nice tone, long range, and it's secure against jerks with scanners. Secure against serious eavesdroppers it's not. When I bought it a year or so ago, I also looked at another phone from (I think) Uniden, which *was* frequency agile. I was intrigued enough to call the manufacturer, and confirmed that it did indeed hop frequencies while the call was underway. How often, and how the next frequency was determined was not known by the guy I talked to, and I balked at the $350 price. speaking for myself Peter Trei trei@process.com Peter Trei Senior Software Engineer Purveyor Development Team Process Software Corporation http://www.process.com trei@process.com