Encrypted mobile phone hits market
 
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A specially modified mobile phone that encrypts conversations is now available worldwide, offering business executives, government officials and law enforcement officers the ability to talk via a secure connection even while on the move.
The TopSec GSM phone is based on Siemens' popular S35i GSM handset, modified with a so-called "crypto-chip," said spokesman Stefan Bottinger of the German communications security company Rohde & Schwarz on Thursday. The device uses a combination of asymmetric 1,024-bit and symmetric 128-bit encryption for a high level of security, he said.
After dialing a number, a user simply presses a button labeled "crypto" to establish a secure connection. The other party to the call must also be using a TopSec GSM phone, or a similarly equipped fixed-line device such as Rohde & Schwarz's ELCRODAT 6-2 ISDN phone.
Rohde & Schwarz is marketing the devices, after acquiring the hardware cryptology segment of Siemens' Information & Communication Mobile division on May 1.
Like the ordinary S35i, the TopSec GSM is a dual-band phone, operating on both the 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies commonly used in Europe, but it does not function on the 1900 MHz band used in Canada and the U.S. The company is marketing it worldwide, at a list price of 3,200 euros ($2,742).
Rohde & Schwarz is targeting "middle- and higher-level management" and government users as potential customers, Bottinger said.
"We plan to sell around 20,000 to 30,000 pieces worldwide total," he said. "That's what we expect from the market." The German Bundeswehr (federal army) recently bought several thousand ELCRODAT phones, he added.
One analyst was skeptical about the demand for encrypted mobile phones.
"I'm not really sure I understand why for voice calls you would need additional encryption," said Michelle de Lussanet, an analyst with Forrester Research in Amsterdam, pointing out that the GSM standard includes a built-in encryption protocol. Furthermore, she added, "There are requirements on network operators that they have to make it possible for police to listen in on phone calls" when there is suspicion of criminal activity.
Indeed, Bottinger said, there are legal restrictions on using encrypted phones in some countries. "With the mobile phone, we deliver a list of those countries, for customers to check whether they can use it or not." He could not say how many or which countries are included in the list, however.
The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.
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