Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: Max Southall Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Bell Cellular to Offer Users Snoop-proof Scramblers Message-ID: <8983@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 15 Jun 90 22:35:44 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 37 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 436, Message 2 of 12 In article <8962@accuvax.nwu.edu> Tom Perrine writes: >>Although Bell Cellular is targetting the defence and national >>security market, the scrambling unit has not yet been certified that >>it meets the rigid Tempest standards set by the U.S. National Security >>Agency. Only equipment that meets the Tempest standards set by the top >>secret communications spy agency can be used by NATO governments to >>communicate classified military and intelligence information. >NSA is the agency charged with (among other things :-) ensuring the >security of U.S. gov't and related communications. No encryption >I find it almost impossible to believe that NSA is going to approve a >box that they didn't design, and which was designed and manufactured >outside the US. Certain Canadian companies are participating in Tempest, through an agreement between the NSA and the Canadian Security Establishment. As well, NSA-sponsored encryption chips are available for design-in into both U.S. and Canadian projects, producing "STU-III" type products, which meet the appropriate Canadian and U.S. agency approvals. As well as Canada being a NATO partner of the U.S. and America's only Free Trade partner, the Canadian and U.S. military forces are closely linked under NORAD command, as well as their foreign policies. There are also certain close-to-the-vest agreements in other areas ... (STU-III ??? "Secure Telephone Unit" ... :-) ) %% Dru Nelson %% Miami, FL %% Internet: dnelson@mthvax.cs.miami.edu %%