Which had/has a built-in backdoor for years.
Comment on NYPD faces backlash as it prepares to encrypt radio communications | New York | The Guardian
pan0wski@infosec.pub 5 months ago
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 5 months ago
barsoap@lemm.ee 5 months ago
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.
cashews_best_nut@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Wait the CCC speaks English? I thought they were German!
barsoap@lemm.ee 5 months ago
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.
cybersandwich@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Not all llaw enforcement or emergency services are in the clear. The Feds are all encrypted (except for some intentional in-the-clear channels for open comms).
One of the biggest criticisms after 9/11 was the lack of easy comms across agencies because of radio set ups, different 10-codes, etc.
Hopefully this is something they are accounting for with this change.
Also $400m doesn’t seem that crazy for an endeavor like this given the size of NYPD.
40k officers and staff + backhaul + tower upgrades /$400m
And is that $400m entire lifecycle cost? Over 5-10 years or whatever that’s really not insane.
Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 5 months ago
It seems insane that they were communicating out in the open.
On the one hand, you probably hear all kinds of cool shit. On the other hand, how in the fuck are they just discussing all their sensitive shit out in the open??
themeatbridge@lemmy.world 5 months ago
They don’t? I mean, you can listen to them, they are not discussing sensitive shit because it’s public.
Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 5 months ago
So what do they use to do that? Or is it that they can’t because they don’t have a secure channel?
themeatbridge@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Communicate private health information? A lot of times they still use fax machines. Information can also be stored in a secured database where access is recorded and monitored. If needed, they can always pick up the phone and talk directly with a person if you need something. HIPAA is fairly specific about this.
An encrypted two-way radio, where only the two parties requiring the information would be on the call, that might be fine as long as you’re careful to make sure someone standing nearby can’t overhear. But that’s not what NYC is building.
Cryan24@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I think most eu countries use tetra for emergency services. it’s great for cross service group/task communications also.
harry_balzac@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Well, for starters, European police are actually trained professionals (in general, much more so than American police) and have different oversight. American police also handle a wider variety of things that really aren’t law enforcement - things that should be handled by other kinds of professionals.
phillaholic@lemm.ee 5 months ago
What do American police handle that European police do not?
kurcatovium@lemm.ee 5 months ago
He already stated that. They shoot and kill 3-4 people a day!
/s