At 04:23 PM 1/31/97 -0800, William Knowles wrote:

.. Primeco digital phone which uses CDMA technology to scramble the calls and makes passive listening next to impossible. (Primeco is a PCS phone) I have been having one helluva a time trying to find more information on the encryption used with Primeco, I have spoken to customer service twice & the local rep told me that the the Chicago FBI asked Primeco to shut off a phone this week because they can't listen in on what is been said, To which the the Primceco guys reply, If the feds can't listen in then I shouldn't be worried.

Many low-level phone company people don't know from encryption, and consider just being digital to be enough to satisfy their market's demand for privacy :-( On the other hand, if they're telling the truth that the FBI had somebody's cellphone shut down because they couldn't wiretap it, that's pretty outrageous, and would seem to constitute a "taking".

Excuse me if this posting is a little off topic, But I have nearly looked everywhere on the WWW to no avail.

CDMA is Code Division Multiple Access, a spread-spectrum technology that lets them manage bandwidth efficiently as well as providing a certain level of privacy (assuming they really are using CDMA, as opposed to TDMA). If there is encryption, it's probably the IS-136 stuff. Phil Karn from Qualcomm was on the standards committees when the NSA was arm-twisting them into making sure it's too wimpy to keep out the NSA, and of course the spread-spectrum is a bit less private when you can subpoena the spreading codes... But it really is much better than nothing. Here's a posting from John Young; you'll also want to look at the CAVE material on www.jya.com. ================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Jan 1997 17:44:49 -0500 From: John Young <jya@pipeline.com> To: cypherpunks@toad.com Subject: Cellular Encryption Docs Thanks to David Wagner and Steve Schear, we've learned about the latest documents on cellular encryption which supercede the 1992 CAVE document, Appendix A to IS-54, which contained the CAVE algorithm. Here are the latest, followed by ordering information. TIA/EIA/IS-136.1-A -- TDMA Cellular/PCS - Radio Interface - Mobile Station - Base Station Compatibility - Digital Control Panel, October, 1996, 372 pp. $350.00. Addendum No. 1 to IS-136.1-A, November, 1996, 40 pp. Free. TIA/EIA/IS-136.2-A -- TDMA Cellular/PCS - Radio Interface - Mobile Station - Base Station Compatibility - Traffic Channels and FSK Control Channel, October, 1996, 378 pp. $310.00. TIA/EIA-627 -- 800 MHZ Cellular System, TDMA Radio Interface, Dual-Mode Mobile Station - Base Station Compatibility Standard, June, 1996, 258 pp. $120.00. These documents can be ordered from: Global Engineering Documents 15 Inverness Way East Englewood, Colorado 80112 Telephone: 1-800-854-7179 However, each of the documents lists the following related supplements which contain "sensitive information" and may be obtained by US/CA citizens from TIA by signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement and acceptance of export restrictions: Appendix A to IS-136. Appendix A to 627. Common Cryptographic Algorithms. Interface Specification for Common Cryptographic Algorithms. These controlled documents can be requested by calling Ms. Sharon Vargish at 1-703-907-7702, who will fax an NDA, and upon receipt of the completed form, will send the controlled documents at no cost. Here's the NDA: AGREEMENT ON CONTROL AND NONDISCLOSURE OF COMMON CRYPTOGRAPHIC ALGORITHMS REVISION A TO IS-54, IS-95, AND IS-136 [Note: 627 supercedes IS-54; IS-95 is for CDMA] "I, _________________________, an employee/consultant/affiliate (typed name) of __________________________, hereafter, "the company," (Company name) _____________________________ (Company address) _____________________________ and a United States or Canadian citizen, acknowledge and understand that the subject documents, to which I will have access contain information [which] is subject to export control under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) (Title 22, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 120-130). I also understand that the subject documents represent valuable, proprietary and confidential business information of TIA and its members. I hereby certify that this information will be controlled and will only be further disclosed, exported, or transferred according to the terms of the ITAR. ______________________________ _____________________________ Signature Date ______________________________ _____________________________ Printed Name Witness ______________________________ _____________________________ Title Printed Name of Witness [End NDA] ============================================================================ # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart, +1-415-442-2215 stewarts@ix.netcom.com # You can get PGP outside the US at ftp.ox.ac.uk/pub/crypto/pgp # (If this is a mailing list, please Cc: me on replies. Thanks.)