LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Joao Campos <jcampos@icat137.icat.fc.ul.pt>
  To  : C4IS , linuxsa@linuxsa.org.au
  Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 11:21:10 +0100

Re: "Listen to Cel.Phones via the I'net"

C4IS wrote:
> 
> This is *not* about the recent SlashDot.org
> article under a similar title...
> 
> Rather a question for any legal-eagles among
> the readers of this post...
> 
> Suppose that, using a remotely-controlled
> scanning receiver (e.g. Swedish's JavaRadio;
> c.f. www.JavaRadio.com for details or to use),
> one were to intentionally listen to cellular tele-
> phone conversations taking place in one coun-
> try, i.e. while the listener was sitting (at an I'net
> terminal) in another country altogether...

I don't know what is the standard for Digital Cell Phones in Australia,
but in Europe the standard is GSM, that stands for Global System for
Mobile communications.

The standard defines a pretty hard crypto on the conversation, so that
no frames carry clear voice data. Everything that is on the air is
coded, so it won't be very easy to listen to something.

I think the cryptography is strong enough to be broken in useful time,
that is, during the time of a phone call.


-- 
Joćo Campos

-- 
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