this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2024
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[–] pan0wski@infosec.pub 76 points 11 months ago (36 children)

I find it fascinating how in the United States police radio communications aren't encrypted and therefore anyone can listen to them. In my European country all emergency service communications are TETRA encrypted.

[–] Dalraz@lemmy.ca 24 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] barsoap@lemm.ee 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

EU security forces didn't really care as TEA2 wasn't backdoored. It's a mid-90s standard with different encryption levels for different actors, it should be blindingly obvious that whatever is publicly available is backdoored. You may not like it, I do not like it, but it should've been obvious.

The actual own goal was that while all EU security forces always had access to the secure stuff plenty of operators of critical infrastructure (think energy suppliers etc) used TEA1 as that's what they were given. Also some EU forces bought TEA1 equipment presumably because they didn't know what they were doing, with or without help from manufactures with an overstock of TEA1 radios.

Here's a 37c3 talk about the whole thing, from the people actually breaching the protocol.

Aside from those encryption issues (which are finally getting addressed btw) TETRA is a great protocol, though. By now a bit dated so bandwidth isn't exactly stellar (forget video streaming or such) but devices can talk directly to another just as in olden times, setting up a base station simply increases range, radio channels are now virtual, it's all very sweet. Basically TETRA is to radio what GSM is to rotary phones. Which, as GSM phones don't tend to be wired, makes a hell a lot more sense.

[–] cashews_best_nut@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Wait the CCC speaks English? I thought they were German!

[–] barsoap@lemm.ee 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Projecting a wee bit, aren't we?

Also the presenters are Dutch. The congress is bilingual though IIRC simultaneous translation is only in place for German->English.

[–] cashews_best_nut@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

CCC was founded in Germany. It's not strange to assume they'd publish in German.

[–] barsoap@lemm.ee 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Oh they do. And if it was a rabbit breeder association it would stand to reason that they'd only publish in German, but they aren't, and they don't.

[–] cashews_best_nut@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

Du hast mich gefragt!

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