Is it possible to compare a modern fighter and a passenger plain by their ability to execute combat operations? It is, in a way, since both of them can fly.
It is possible to turn a passenger plane to a type of a combat one, install additional armor, guns and machine guns and consider philosophically they have got a new a combat vehicle. But, alas, the first test shows that a modern fighter has an indisputable advantage due to its special combat features. It is obvious for everyone sine initially a fighter was designed for military use and a passenger airplane – for civil use.
But is not surprising when someone tries to design super encryptors from general use GSM phones. Naturally it is the cheapest and the easiest way to use a production-run GSM phones and start to modernize it. It is the same as equipping a passenger liner with an additional machine gun and proving we have created a super modern fighter. All right, a machine gun can at least shoot efficiently, but they sometimes equip pilots with guns and consider they have implemented the mission on the creation of a super fighter.
How is it possible to create a modern encryptor that should provide the so-called third level protection and spend practically nothing on its creation and research? This is the most complicated myth in the history of the modern cryptography.
That is why world leaders use only specially designed and, most important, reliably tested crypto GSM phones to protect their conversations. The real cost of these developments, including special research, is worth dozens of millions of US dollars.
There are a lot of crypto GSM manufacturers in the modern commercial market. They may be subdivided into two categories, though both of them have a similar way to solve the problem – they are designed on the basis of production-run GSM phones.
Two approaches are used to realize the hardware GSM encryption:
- An additional chip inside a GSM phone.
- An additional device performing the encryption function. This device is connected to a standard GSM phone.
Another way is software realization when a processor that already exists in a GSM phone encrypts the speech.
It is obvious both methods have essential disadvantages in respect to the protection against the GSM microphone radiation and other high radiation components. Their harmonicas may easily go into the air through the GSM phone antenna and may be intercepted by a cheap scanner at a distance of dozens of kilometers. There is no sense using the most complicated encryption algorithms, the open speech is in the air. In their turn the software encryptors have an essential disadvantage, since the keys are kept in the processor directly connected to a phone modem. It is very easy to steal the keys. It may be compared to locking a car with a lock and putting the keys near the car saying the car is perfectly protected. This issue is very actual because GSM encryption software systems use the Windows operation system often attacked by viruses, the so-called “Troyan horse”, in particular.
CTS crypto smartphone was from the beginning designed for the “third level” cryptographic protection. There is a specialized crypto chip in the telephone, special filters and a metal screen to protect against dangerous radiation. The crypto smartphone does not have such high radiation components as video camera, Bluetooth, infrared port, flash memory, Wi-fi. Besides there is a unique system to control the correct function of the encryptor. The realization of a special synchronization system provides a reliable operation of the crypto smartphone in roaming, especially when it is necessary to execute long-distant roaming and if analogue means are utilized for data transmission. A unique system to restore a crypto message during synchronization has been designed. It provides high reliability of the connection.
Crypto smartphone developed by CTS has the highest cryptographic, engineering-cryptographic characteristics which provide reliable “third level” cryptographic protection.
