Security-minded GSM mobile phone runs Pocket PC 2002

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Nov. 19, 2003

Worried about people listening in on your cell phone calls? According to GSMK (Berlin, Germany), you no longer need to worry, provided you and whoever you talking to are using a pair of the company's new CryptoPhone GSM mobile phones. The company claims to have created secure cell phone transmissions on a Pocket PC based GSM mobile phone using a 4096-bit Diffie-Hellman key exchange with SHA256 hash function.

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According to GSMK, the CryptoPhone's encryption scheme involves no proprietary or secret encryption, no centralized key generation, and no extra security SIM, making the protection of the encryption key a top priority. Instead, a unique encryption key is created for every call placed, and the key is destroyed at the end of each call.

GSMK says the CryptoPhone works on any GSM 900/1800 network that provides data call facilities, and that it can provide up to 3 hours 15 minutes of secure communications, 3 hours 30 minutes of unsecured communications, or 150 hours of standby time.

GSMK says it chose Microsoft's Pocket PC 2002 platform for the CryptoPhone due to the ability to provide software integrity protection in ROM and strip out unnecessary functions. The company also says it is willing to provide access to its source code, in order to enable independent security assessments of its encryption approach.

Summary of features:

AES256 and Twofish
4096 bit Diffie-Hellman key exchange with SHA256 hash function
Readout-hash based key authentication
256 bit effective key length
encryption key is destroyed as soon as the call ends
Source code available online for independent security assessments
also supports unencrypted calls, unencrypted SMS, address book, calendar etc.
works in any 900/1800 GSM network that provides data call facilities
Standby: 150 hours
Talk time: Secure up to 3 hours 15 minutes
/ Unsecured up to 3 hours 30 minutes

GSMK also provides a free download of secure softphone software for Windows-based desktop computers communicating over modem on POTS or ISDN landline. The free "CryptoPhone for Windows" download will soon be available here. Additionally, GSMK says the source code for its free "CryptoPhone for Windows" will be made available as a free download.

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